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[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Stars Recap: Crosby, Pens forecheck carries the day in Dallas

Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images

The Pens get to work and it pays off. Sidney Crosby gets a hat trick and Pittsburgh notches an upset win over the Dallas Stars

Pregame​

Evgeni Malkin is back from injury for his first game since March 23rd and the Penguins’ forward group actually looks pretty good at this time of year.

Welcome back to the lineup, Geno! pic.twitter.com/iiW7p1O9zi

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 5, 2025​

The Dallas Stars have to play again tomorrow, so they opt to give starter Jake Oettinger the day off so backup Casey DeSmith gets the net for the home team.

First period​

Kris Letang takes a penalty 21 seconds into the game but the Pens still get off to a hot start and test DeSmith early. When Letang gets out of the box he gets tripped and Pittsburgh gets their first power play of the game. They score on it, and it’s who else but Sidney Crosby scoring the goal to extend his point streak to 12 games. 1-0 Pens just 4:16 into the game.

LEGEND TO LEGEND pic.twitter.com/O1yZPntFNZ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 5, 2025​

The Pens turn the puck over and Erik Karlsson gets caught in no man land. He tries to break up Oskar Back’s pass instead of falling back with Evgenii Dadonov and fails on it. Tristan Jarry is way deep in his net and Dadonov skates in and lifts the puck over him. 1-1 game.

Gonna just scoot right past ya pic.twitter.com/MN51PSSuH6

— X - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 5, 2025​

The Pens get another power play but can’t score.

Shots are 12-8 PIT through 20. Good period for the visitors against a strong opponent, 1-1 score.

Second period​

Roope Hintz has a bad shift where he accidentally clips DeSmith’s head with his side and then takes a penalty. The Pens don’t score but get a couple looks, Crosby almost had a baseball-style mid-air goal but it went high. DeSmith shakes off the jarring hit he took to hold on.

Letang is back to the penalty box and the Stars score this time. Matt Grzelcyk lets a puck get by him and then Matt Duchene fires a pass with no respect to Ryan Shea’s ability to break it up. Shea doesn’t and Dadonov is on the receiving end to score his second of the game. 2-1 Dallas.

What a FEED from Dutchy pic.twitter.com/3DtIoqxFqN

— X - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 5, 2025​

Shots are 11-5 PIT in the second period and 23-13 PIT overall in the game. Dallas is giving them some outside looks. Not a bad game for the Pens but they trail 2-1 heading into the third period.

Third period​

The Pens come out hot in the third and score 20 seconds in. Bryan Rust gets in on the forecheck and helps turn the puck over to Rutger McGroarty. The rookie bumps a pass over for Crosby and the captain quickly shoots it to the far-side to tie the game 2-2.

Sidney Crosby has TEN goals and 18 points over his 12-game point streak pic.twitter.com/EDYNgA0sFf

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 5, 2025​

The offense has been all Crosby and Dadonov so the latter steps back up for his third goal of the game. Dadonov collects an incoming puck, and sends a backhander by Jarry. 3-2 Dallas is back in front.

SECOND CAREER HAT TRICK FOR EVGENII DADONOV! pic.twitter.com/VspPKuw1fU

— X - Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 5, 2025​

With 11:11 to go, Rust finally breaks the Crosby/Dadonov monopoly on goal scoring. Rust’s pressure on the forecheck forces Ilya Lyubushkin to lose an edge and take a tumble. Puck goes to Crosby on the wall who centers it for Rust to backhand in. 3-3 game.

Rusty's 200th NHL goal is a beaut pic.twitter.com/is1ujws426

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 5, 2025​

A Cody Ceci-involved disaster puts the Pens ahead with just 1:43 to go. Ceci wanders over towards Thomas Harley after the latter was being hounded by Blake Lizotte and they have a huge collision. Danton Heinen receives the gift and passes it over for Lizotte to wire a one-timer by DeSmith. 4-3 Pens.

BLAKE LIZOTTE! Lizotte capitalizes on the brutal Dallas mistake, giving Pittsburgh the late lead!#LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/OwbYYi4Pt2

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 5, 2025​

Dallas uses their timeout to regroup. They pull DeSmith but it doesn’t work, Crosby fires a long-range shot from his own end right down the middle for his 30th goal of the season and to put the Pens up 5-3 with 1:15 to play.

That’ll do it, the Stars’ seven-game winning streak is history courtesy of the Penguins.

Some thoughts​

• The first goal of the game saw the 61st occurrence where Crosby, Malkin and Letang factored into the goal, per Bob Grove. Who knows how many more Big 3 exclusive goals there will be, always fun to see.
• Casey DeSmith now has 187 career games but this was the first time DeSmith played against the Penguins. He played pretty well, including a series of big stops against Rakell, Koivunen and Grzelcyk in a third period scramble but the Pens kept pushing and eventually got enough by him.
• Dallas plays a more important game tomorrow against Minnesota so it was tactically wise to rest their starter but it’s interesting that for one reason or another the Pens have faced a team’s backup goalie for four straight games. Presumably that will end tomorrow against Chicago since they don’t play today.
• Dadonov has the look of the Russian guy who if this was 25+ years ago would be smoking cigs during intermission (shoutout Sergei Zubov) and then coming back out and skating around and through everyone.
• Dadonov’s three goals brings him close to 20 on the year, if he gets there that would make the eighth player on their team to get to 20+ this season (counting Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund who did most of their damage on other teams). That’s the most in the league, having that many capable options for scoring should come in handy for them come playoff time. Now they just need to get one of the league’s better defenders in Miro Heiskanen healthy and they should be ready to rock and roll.
• What stands out most about Crosby’s point streak? Gotta be the amount of goals, he’s got 11G+9A in this 12-game run. Of course, 20 total points in 12 games isn’t that far behind in impressiveness. Crosby’s three goals today pushed him up to his 13th career 30-goal season.
• It’s a shame that Rust wasn’t credited with an assist on the second Crosby goal. Rust didn’t get to the puck but it was his pressure and effort that started the chance. Really nice pass from McGroarty, building the chemistry with Crosby/Rust in the final few games is a huge benefit for the future,
• In that regard, the Penguin forecheck in the reason they won today. All three of their 5v5 goals were kickstarted by great F1 forechecks (Rust on the first two, Lizotte on the GWG).

The Pens are back at it tomorrow in Chicago. Puck drops shortly after 6:00pm eastern.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/5/...rick-pens-forecheck-carries-the-day-in-dallas

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Chicago Blackhawks 4/6/2025

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Pens gear up for the first of two games in a row against Chicago

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (31-34-12, 74 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division) @ Chicago Blackhawks (21-45-10, 52 points, 8th place Central Division)

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: SportsNet Pittsburgh and Chicago Sports Network in the local markets, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: After not seeing Chicago in the first 77 games of the 2024-25 season, the Pens will deal with them twice in a row with the next game back in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Pens then get two days off before their final road game of the season coming up next Friday in New Jersey before returning home to play the Bruins a week from today in Game No 81. The season ends with a 4/17 home game against Washington.

Opponent Track: The Blackhawks found themselves on the wrong side of history in their last game by giving up two goals to Alex Ovechkin, watching him tie Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 career goals. Chicago was winning that game 3-2 at the start of the third period before slumping away to a 5-3 loss on Friday. Overall it’s been tough times, in the last four weeks (since March 8th) CHI has a dreadful 1-10-2 record as their tear-down build continues to scrape the bottom.

Season Series: It’d be difficult to find a season series more delayed than this one. PIT/CHI plays tonight in Game No. 78 of the season for the Pens, then again on Tuesday back in Pittsburgh to knock out a whole season series within a few days.

Hidden Stat: In the Sidney Crosby era (2005-present), the Penguins have only won three out of 12 games played in Chicago (3-6-3). That record has been boosted by Pittsburgh winning in both of their last two trips to the Windy City!

Getting to know the Blackhawks​

Projected lines (from yesterday’s practice)

FORWARDS

Ryan Donato - Connor Bedard - Ilya Mikheyev

Teuvo Teravainen - Frank Nazar - Tyler Bertuzzi

Landon Slaggert - Oliver Moore - Philipp Kurashev

Lukas Reichel - Joe Veleno - Nick Foligno

DEFENSEMEN

Alex Vlasic / Sam Rinzel

Kevin Korchinski / Connor Murphy

Wyatt Kaiser / Artem Levshunov

Goalies: Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom

Scratches: Jason Dickinson, Colton Dach, Pat Maroon, TJ Brodie, Ethan Del Mastro, Louis Crevier, Alec Martinez

IR: Shea Weber, Laurent Brossoit

—First, the irony and absurdity that literal Hockey Hall of Famer Shea Weber is on Chicago’s books, where he’ll be next season as well. Chicago’s full circle from dealing out LTIR-retired contracts like Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook to taking on the cap hit of their own.

—This lineup has four new rookies all 20 or younger (Moore, Rinzel, Levshunov, Korchinski) finishing out the stretch in the NHL much the same way the Pens are giving McGroarty and Koivunen a late look. Levshunov, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, might be the most intriguing to watch after a very impressive age-18 season in the AHL has him primed to be an NHL impact player sooner than later.

—Before and after those callups, we’re dealing with a very young lineup that’s gotten younger over the season after dealing Seth Jones, Taylor Hall and Petr Mrazek away. There’s a few random vets here and there, but counting scratches there are 13 players in the 19-23 year old range with the NHL club right now.

—They’re young enough where Reichel was scratched for last game due to missing a team meeting by oversleeping thanks to a phone battery failing him. We’ve all been there but this isn’t a very professional operation at the moment with large doses of youth and inexperience permeating the team, and not in a good way. Many fans yearn for starting anew with young players, but Chicago’s current situation shows the growing pains and bumps along the way that come with competing in the world’s toughest league with so many learning the ropes at the same time.

—When Reichel gets back into the lineup today it sadly looks like it will be at the expense of Pat Maroon, who has announced his retirement at season’s end. Would be nice to see the big guy play some more before he goes out. On the vet front, Brodie’s been almost unplayably bad (and on this team it’s saying something) and Martinez joined Matt Grzelcyk in the “so bad contenders don’t even want the depth on an expiring contract at the deadline” area.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

—Bedard has failed to meet a lot of the lofty tags and designation he was given upon entering the league but he’s put up 120 points in 144 games as a teenager in the NHL without a ton of team support or structure. It’s probably important to remember that Bedard was the second youngest full-time NHL player in the league this year (behind SJ’s Macklin Celebrini). There’s always a hot take looming but his career path might be heading for more Nathan MacKinnon than Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid. That’s not too shabby either.

—Bertuzzi has three more years on his contract and in a quiet moment would be forgiven for wondering just what he signed up for in his career by going to Chicago last summer as a free agent.

—It’ll be interesting to see if Knight and the Hawks can grow together. A former first round pick in 2019, Knight made it to the NHL super-quick and was looking like a future star by 2022 and age 21 when he inked a contract to match (three years, $4.5m cap hit). Since then, as only goalies can, he’s floundered. The skill is there somewhere but he’s certainly a player with a loud ticking clock to get back on track before he skids out of control.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rutger McGroarty - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Rickard Rakell - Evgeni Malkin - Ville Koivunen

Danton Heinen - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari

Connor Dewar - Kevin Hayes - Philip Tomasino

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Kris Letang

Erik Karlsson / Conor Timmins

Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea

Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic (Tristan Jarry played yesterday)

Potential Scratches: Vladislav Kolyachonok, Tommy Novak (lower body), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season)

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

—We purposely inverted the bottom-six forward lines from how the Penguins list them due to usage. Heinen-Acciari-Lizotte all played 13-15 even strength minutes yesterday against Dallas. The Dewar-Hayes-Tomasino line were all in a 5-6 minute range. Some of that was due to the Stars’ style fit better for capable players along the boards to take more shifts and some due to performance. It certainly was the right call since Heinen and Lizotte teamed up for the game winner yesterday.

—Joona Koppanen quietly got sent back to the minors over the weekend since Evgeni Malkin returned to full health.

—No official word on the goalie for today but Alex Nedeljkovic could be in-line to start only his second game in the last four weeks due to the back-to-back. Pretty crazy how things have shifted from last year at this time when the Pens were roaring down the stretch and Nedeljkovic was in net for the last 13 games. This year it’s been a strong finish but with Nedeljkovic mostly watching from the bench.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/6/...ttsburgh-penguins-chicago-blackhawks-4-6-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Blackhawks Recap: Mostly lifeless Pens tripped up in Chicago

Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images

Rickard Rakell scores late, but the Penguins can’t climb out of a hole they dig against the Blackhawks

Pregame​

There’s a mild surprise to start the day, Philip Tomasino is injured and can’t play so the up-and-down from the AHL Joona Koppanen is back up for the day. Alex Nedeljkovic gets the nod in net on the second half of the back-to-back.

Tonight's lineup in Chicago.

Philip Tomasino is being evaluated for an upper-body injury and will not play. pic.twitter.com/dAEs5JrlRR

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 6, 2025​

First period​

Of all the periods in a season, the first was definitely one of them. That’s about as much as you can say about that, no goals or penalties or very much in the way of exciting developments.

On the plus side, there is a lot of skating and end-to-end play and a lack of whistles, so that’s nice.

Shots are 8-6 PIT through 20.

Second period​

The second period is a lot like the first. No goals or penalties for the longest time and lots of stretches of whistle-free play. Blake Lizotte deflects a puck past goalie Spencer Knight, but his stick was comically about straight vertical in the air and it was an easy and correctly ruled not a good goal.

With 2:59 to go, the Penguins earn the first power play of the game. The first goal is scored on it, but by Chicago. The Blackhawks got one odd-man rush early but couldn’t score. More zone time happened for the Pens but another situation of a loose puck near the wall caused trouble for Erik Karlsson, as it seems to do. Puck and player both get by him and CHI had another 2-on-1 with Kris Letang back. But the ‘Hawks make two passes through Letang and Frank Nazar wires a short-side shot by Nedeljkovic.

Frank's first shorthanded goal, nbd pic.twitter.com/G4F0jQRKrk

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 6, 2025​

Pittsburgh gets another power play late but neither team can score.

That does it for the second period and we have a goal but it’s by the Blackhawks.

Third period​

The Pens don’t do much with their carryover power play time, besides Matt Grzelcyk charging in and slashing a guy for no reason to send himself to the penalty box. Pittsburgh kills that off.

Bryan Rust almost stuffs one in from the side of the net but no dice.

Chicago extends their lead with 10:20 to play. Ilya Mikheyev leaves Conor Timmins in the dust and Conor Bedard hits him with a pass. Mikheyev finishes the breakaway. 2-0.

Ilya goal Sam Rinzel's first point pic.twitter.com/kHLVdGsBci

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 7, 2025​

Mike Sullivan was going nuts on the bench after the goal to the refs, giving the refs a very angry version of the Logan Roy from Succession (extremely NSFW!) over an uncalled slash in the buildup to the play. The players on the team didn’t have a lot of juice tonight but the coach was still very invested.

Evgeni Malkin gets taken down and slides hard into the boards to send Pittsburgh to one more power play with 5:40 to go. The Pens quickly get on the board just 16 seconds into the power play. Ville Koivunen starts the play off the wall to pass down to Rust on the goal line. Rust one-touches a pass to the bumper for Rickard Rakell to smack into the net for his 34th goal of the season. 2-1 game with 5:24 to go.

Ilya goal Sam Rinzel's first point pic.twitter.com/kHLVdGsBci

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 7, 2025​

Rust loses the puck in the neutral zone and the play goes the other way. Bedard leads a 2-on-1 and calls his own number with a shot. Big stop by Nedeljkovic to keep the game alive.

Nedeljkovic gets pulled with 1:50 remaining. No heroics this time, Rust has a chance low but the Pens lose the puck and Chicago works the puck up the ice to Mikheyev for an empty net goal to cap this one off with 56 seconds to go. 3-1.

Some thoughts​

• It wasn’t the loudest game but it’s fun to zero in on Rutger McGroarty. He put a cross-ice lead pass right on Bryan Rust’s tape in the second period. Rust had some open net looking at him but his aim on the shot went wide. Later in the second, McGroarty showed his hockey IQ and hung back towards the right point when Erik Karlsson gained a zone entry. Karlsson ended up looking back high and hit the pass to McGroarty that led to a nice shot and chance after McGroarty stepped inside a defender. Little things but encouraging to see the rookie putting it together piece by piece as the days and games go by.
• Similarly, they didn’t score but it was a nice little game from the newly connected second line of Rakell-Malkin-Koivunen. They were the best offensive line of the night for generating some chances, with Koivunen featuring in the middle of a lot of it. Malkin had a team-high 5 shots before getting tripped and tumbling hard into the boards late in the game. Hopefully nothing of consequence happened there beyond the uncomfortable moment.
• When I say the game moved quickly in the early part, that was illustrated by the faceoff total. Usually in NHL hockey there’s about a faceoff per minute. Through 40 minutes there were only 28 total faceoffs. Add in period starts, the penalty and the goal and that left only 24 other stoppages in 40 minutes. Might as well zoom through a game like this as quickly as possible.
• For better or worse, Karlsson is always authentically himself in trying to play the puck. It’s a good thing to have a short memory and get after it the next time but he’s got no qualms about attempting low percentage keeps near the blueline. Too often it burns him and the team.
• Whether it’s sometimes being on the left side or in too big of a role, the arrow is pointing down on Timmins in these last few games. He had a really good start with the Pens in his first handful of games and earned a shot for more ice and a bigger role but it hasn’t gone well. Granted, every single defenseman on the team is having his own struggles at times too, might just have to ride it out and see what happens.
• The Penguins looked very much like a team in their third city in four days, especially considering they emptied the tank with a huge effort yesterday against a good Stars team. Sometimes that catches up.
• This loss officially mathematically eliminates the Pens from the playoffs. Not that it was a big surprise.

These same Blackhawks come to Pittsburgh for a rematch on Tuesday night.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/6/...ap-mostly-lifeless-pens-tripped-up-in-chicago

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Monday Standings: Jockeying for draft pick positioning in the last 10 days of the season

Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

The Penguins may have one or two first round picks in June, depending on how the Rangers do

The Penguins were officially eliminated from the playoffs yesterday, a mere formality since they have been outside of the hunt for much of the season and there are now only 10 days and four games left in their 2024-25 season. With that piece of business wrapped up, focus can now shift to the 2025 first round.

There’s been an interesting development at the bottom of the NHL standings lately, the Buffalo Sabres have been heating up. They’re on a four-game winning streak that has moved them up the board recently. Here’s the current look at the draft lottery odds via Tankathon.

The Pens are likely settling in a range between the 6th and 9th pick prior to the draft lottery that will set the first round, depending on how they and the other teams perform in these final few games. That’s a pretty good place to be since most draft observers tend to see four very good prospects then a drop and then a second high level of four more players. Teams that end up in the top-8 are well-positioned to add a quality prospect and Pittsburgh finds themselves right in that range with 10 days to go.

There’s another angle to draft pick watching this year, courtesy of the first round pick of the New York Rangers. The Rangers made the pick top-13 protected when they traded it to Vancouver and the Canucks traded that pick for Marcus Pettersson to have it end up in Pittsburgh.

The Rangers have stumbled every chance along the way and they are running out of runway. In fact, at this point, their playoff chances are about cooked following another loss yesterday. Montreal currently sits in the final playoff position a commanding six points ahead of NYR, courtesy of a very timely five-game winning streak that the Canadiens are riding (NYR does have one game in hand). With only a few games left, by all likelihood the Rangers are not going to make the playoffs barring a very dramatic and low-percentage reversal of fortunes for themselves and a collapse by MTL. Montreal’s current “magic number” is down to just four points — any combination of those points gained by the Habs or lost by the Rangers will cinch up their playoff spot, which could happen as soon as tomorrow night.

That adds up to make these last couple days of the season very interesting for how NYR handles the last few games, particularly when they are officially eliminated and find themselves with a few meaningless games to play out. The Rangers have been far from stable this season, it wouldn’t be that surprising if they slump away in the final few games. Mathematically it’s not a stretch to envision them ending up as low as the 10th-12th range of draft spots if disappointment from failing to make the playoffs leads to a malaise.

Another interesting angle is the conditions on the trade the Rangers made. Kyle Dubas confirmed at his post-trade deadline press conference that NYR gets to decide if they have a top-13 pick if they want to transfer that pick or keep it. They would then have to give up their 2026 first round pick with no ability for protecting it, should they decide to keep their pick this year.

That, of course, puts Pittsburgh in an intriguing spot. While it’s possible that if the Rangers get the 12th or 13th pick that they may voluntarily select to send it away this year, let’s also remember that they negotiated top-13 protection seemingly for a reason. There’s also the fact that by operational nature that teams don’t tend to give up a pick if they don’t have to. All logic points to a team with the ability to keep a pick deciding to do just that.

Should the Pens expect NYR to transfer them the pick if the Rangers don’t have to? Probably not. But it is not an absolute known fact at this point either. Further, per Dubas, the Rangers don’t have to make their announcement of what course they are going to take until 48 hours before the draft, even though one would think that NYR GM Chris Drury will probably tip his hand and indicate his plans prior to that point. Surely the Rangers would be waiting for May’s lottery draft to see what happens so if in the low percentage chance that a top-13 NYR pick wins the lottery and moves up 10 places it would be an obvious end result for the Rangers to keep what would be a top-3 pick this year.

This all creates a situation where a lot is still up for grabs in terms of first round jockeying at this point. It’s possible the Rangers don’t punt at the season and end up fitting into the 14th or 15th pick, which would transfer to the Penguins automatically. It’s possible (perhaps likely) the Rangers slide end up in the 10-13 range and keep it for themselves. It’s possible, though logically unlikely that NYR ends up in that zone and takes their medicine early to retain their 2026 pick. Plenty of options remain on the table.

Either way, it’s a favorable position for Pittsburgh. They will at least have one top-10 pick in the upcoming draft and very possibly could have two in the top-15, depending on how things shake out.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/7/...positioning-in-the-last-10-days-of-the-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

How long will the Penguins playoff drought continue?

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

It could be another year or two at least, but it should not be more than that.

Having officially missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season, we can now say that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in a postseason drought. This is relatively uncharted territory for the organization, as this season is just the eighth time since 1990 that it has missed the playoffs.

It has been a pretty great run.

It is also only the second time over that stretch they have missed three seasons in a row, joining also the period between the 2002 and 2006 seasons.

Not all of those seasons are created equal.

Back in the 2002-2006 era, that was a team dealing with devastating financial hardships, going through a massive teardown rebuild, and waiting for the league to implement a salary cap. It was a grim time, but with each top pick in the draft the optimism gradually started to grow.

During the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons the Penguins were clearly still in a win-now mode, but simply constructed flawed rosters with serious Achilles heels that held them back.

This season seemed to be something else entirely, and we should have seen the signs coming in the offseason when the only moves were signing players like Anthony Beauvillier and Matt Grzelyck to one-year deals, and taking on contracts (Kevin Hayes, Cody Glass) to start accumulating future draft picks.

Pretty much every move made since the 2024 trade deadline has been centered around the future.

As a whole, they have added a lot of young talent and future assets into the organization.

Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen look like legit prospects and are making a strong first impression in the NHL. They should be fixtures in the lineup starting next season. Their presence has significantly boosted the state of the farm system.

Sergei Murashov, Harrison Brunicke and Owen Pickering are all intriguing prospects to some degree, with Murashov being the one guy out of everybody mentioned here that could rapidly change the team’s short-term outlook if everything breaks right with him and his development.

Nothing changes a team quite like a goalie can.

They have (as of now) 30 draft picks over the next three years, including several within the first two rounds of those classes. Along with their own first-round picks, they also have a wildly intriguing New York Rangers pick in one of the next two years.

There are some things to be hopeful and encouraged about.

But the team itself, as currently constructed, has a lot of flaws and is very bad.

You also have to accept the reality that not every prospect you have is going to pan out. You hope McGroarty and Koivunen become consistent top-six scorers. Maybe only one of them does. If even five or six of those 30 draft picks (assuming they make them all and do not trade any) turn into productive NHL players, you’ve probably done well for yourself. Those are just simply the odds with draft picks.

Whether you want to label this a full-scale rebuild, a re-tool, or something else in between those two labels, it is probably not going to be an immediate turnaround. At least not next season. Maybe not even the season after that.

I took a quick look around the NHL and looked at the longest playoff drought for every NHL team in the salary cap era (starting with the 2005-06 season).

Excluding Vegas and Seattle (just because they are so new), 23 of the other 30 NHL teams have had at least one playoff drought of four years or more.

The only teams that have avoided that to this point are Colorado, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Boston, Nashville, New York Rangers and Washington.

In the Lightning and Rangers cases, Tampa Bay had one playoff appearance after a three-year drought, then followed it with a two-year drought before going on its current run of extended dominance.

The Rangers made the extended playoff field in 2019-20 after missing the playoffs two years in a row, then missed the playoffs again in 2020-21. Under normal circumstances they probably would have had a four-year drought of their own.

Boston, Nashville (?!) and Washington are the only non-expansion teams that have mostly avoided extended down periods with playoff droughts of two years or less. Though, I do anticipate that Boston’s time has arrived. That team STINKS.

Here are the longest playoff droughts in this time period, with teams listed in bold currently dealing with active playoff droughts.

A couple of things to keep in mind here:

1. At some point, pretty much everybody goes through this. After nearly two decades of success and being the best organization in hockey, the Penguins were eventually going to have to deal with it. That time is now.
2. A playoff drought does not mean a team was rebuilding that entire time. We are seeing that with the Penguins right now. Even though they have missed the playoffs three years in a row, you could make the argument this is only the first year of a rebuild. Chicago’s playoff drought is at five years, but for two of those years they were very clearly still trying — and failing — to win. Buffalo thought it had come out of a rebuild at least once during its drought before scrapping it all and starting over.
3. A lot of the longest, most extended droughts came from teams that tore it down to the studs (Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit, Anaheim .... I would imagine San Jose joins that group relatively quickly over the next two years), while also having poor roster construction and asset management along the way.

At this point we still do not truly know what the Penguins are planning on here, beyond the reality that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to play out their careers with the Penguins.

It seems likely that Erik Karlsson gets traded at some point over the next two years. Maybe even the next few months.

Kris Letang might?

Bryan Rust and/or Rickard Rakell could.

I still look at the relatively quick turnarounds of the Kings, Rangers and to a lesser extent the Capitals (who did not even actually rebuild) as examples the Penguins could reasonably follow. Though, in the Rangers case you want to simply do it better and not be totally dependent on one guy to lift your franchise.

While they do have some bad contracts on the roster, one of them (Karlsson) is still fairly tradable, while they also have the benefit of a rapidly rising salary cap situation.

Even with Karlsson, Tristan Jarry and Ryan Graves under contract they still have over $25 million in salary cap space this offseason, $54 million in 2026-27 and $87 million in 2027-28. That is a lot of flexibility.

Having too many bad contracts and too much dead money was a huge issue for a team like Detroit in its attempt to dig out of its mess. The Penguins, for the most part, do not really have much of that.

A lot of it, however, depends on what kind of luck they get with the development of their top prospects and what sort of luck they get in the draft lottery.

If Murashov is as good as he has looked so far in North America, that can immediately raise your floor.

If the lottery balls go your way this year and/or next year and bring you a top-tier talent, that also certainly helps the timeline (the Rangers and Kings had that happen for them without every truly bottoming out in the standings).

They need some things to go their way. But they seem to have a good management team in place, they have some legitimate prospects, and they have flexibility under the salary cap to add and add quickly in the coming seasons (even if it is not this summer). You should still probably anticipate at least one more, and maybe two more, years like this. If it goes beyond that, however, things have probably gone very wrong somewhere along the line.

I do have some questions about the NHL-level scouting, but Dubas and Co. have mostly managed resources and assets extraordinarily well from a big-picture outlook. That is important. Now we get to see how they can actually build this out.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/7/24403009/how-long-will-the-penguins-playoff-drought-continue

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes Weekly: A very bad weekend in Cleveland

@wbspenguins

The AHL Penguins lose two crucial games on the road

The Wilkes-Barre Penguins had a big opportunity with two important road games in Cleveland and it ended up not going well, to put it mildly. WBS was out-scored 10-1 in the aggregate of what ended up being two resounding losses. As such, they’ve fallen behind in the race for second place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Finishing in second place is so important due to the wacky playoff format the AHL uses. The top two teams in the division earn a bye in the opening round and then No. 3 from the division plays No 6 while No. 4 faces No. 5 in just a three-game series. It was and is a tight race between Wilkes, Charlotte and Providence to earn that second spot and now the Penguins have given up valuable positioning with little time remaining in the AHL’s 72-game regular season to get back into it. They’re not out of it yet but this weekend was a serious blow.

Below are the lines from their last game. Wilkes is missing two of their top players all season long in Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen, but young players growing and graduating to the NHL is a challenge that minor league teams inherently face. WBS has gotten Emil Bemstrom back and their defense/goalie personnel shouldn’t be losing a 7-1 game at this time of year no matter who has departed the lineup.

Everybody say welcome to the AHL, Nolan Renwick!

Catch the action on AHLTV on FloHockey: https://t.co/CrNDVVHuPj pic.twitter.com/K0tWky6Hg5

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 5, 2025​

Beyond the obvious absences of McGroarty and Koivunen, the AHL Penguins have been thinned out further on the illness and injury front. The team was without Sam Poulin (illness), Joel Blomqvist, Marc Johnstone and Mathias Laferriere over the weekend. The multiple absences in the forward group led to the AHL debut of 21-year old Jack Beck over the weekend. Beck earned it by being one of Wheeling’s top players this season by producing 36 points (8G+28A) in 36 games this season down in the ECHL.

The AHL Pens stopped in Cranberry for a practice at the NHL team’s facility while making the motorized trip across the state and over to Ohio. That gave some of the local media a chance to catch up with the minor leaguers, including the rising prospect Avery Hayes getting some camera time with SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Avery Hayes on signing an NHL contract last month, and why he feels the Pens organization is a good fit for him. @SNPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/MF2fBkz5oH

— Dan Potash (@DanPotashTV) April 4, 2025​

WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald spoke briefly about 18-year old prospect Harrison Brunicke getting his first taste of AHL action. Brunicke has one assist and eight penalty minutes in four games so far as a lineup regular on the third pair since his junior season ended.

What does WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald like about Harrison Brunicke, who joined the Pens from the Kamloops Blazers last week. @SNPittsburgh pic.twitter.com/ZO5Hml71FG

— Dan Potash (@DanPotashTV) April 4, 2025​

The Penguins remain active in signing players to AHL contracts, adding three more former NCAA players to the ranks in moves to help add depth within the organization.

The Penguins have signed defenseman David Breazeale as well as forwards Aaron Huglen and Zach Urdahl to contracts starting in the 2025-26 season.

Breazeale, two-year captain at the University of Maine, has joined the Penguins on an ATO.https://t.co/kuftGRC7p9 pic.twitter.com/RwXNoKzecz

— x - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) April 7, 2025​

As mentioned in the tweet, Breazeale headlines these signings as the only player in this group ramping up this spring. Breazeale, 24, went undrafted but is listed by the University of Maine as a 6’3” 215 pound left shot defender. His point totals weren’t high, he recorded 3G+10A in 38 games as a senior in 2024-25, but he seems to be a player who takes care of his own end with blocked shots and responsible defensive play.

Huglen, 24, is notable from being a fourth round draft pick of Buffalo’s back in 2019. His collegiate career didn’t take off over four years at the University of Minnesota but he was able to find an AHL contract to turn pro.

Urdahl, 23, finished up his senior season at Nebraska-Omaha after starting his career with his native Wisconsin Badgers. The 6’1, 193 pound forward is said to have good wheels and recorded 22 points (12G+10A) in 33 games this season.

—

Up next is another huge weekend for Wilkes that features the daunting three games in three days schedule. The team is at home to meet division leader Hershey on Friday and potential first round foe Springfield on Saturday before Wilkes makes a visit to last place Bridgeport on Sunday.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/8/24403338/wilkes-weekly-a-very-bad-weekend-in-cleveland

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Blackhawks Recap: Pens cruise to 5-0 win over hapless Chicago

Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Penguins score a bunch and take an easy win over the Blackhawks

Pregame​

The Penguins make a change in their lineup Blake Lizotte (lower body injury) is out for tonight which opens the door for Matt Nieto to play his first NHL game since late Febraury. Tristan Jarry gets back in the net.

Tonight's lineup vs. Chicago pic.twitter.com/SstEV5bprC

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 8, 2025​

First period​

Fairly boring start to the game. Chicago’s Sam Rinzel puts a shot off the cross-bar that just barely stays out of the net, the Blackhawks start out as the better of the two teams - but that’s not saying much.

Out of no where the Penguins get the first power play of the game, not much happens with it.

Pittsburgh is the better team towards the end of the period. Ryan Graves hits the post.

Nieto drives hard to the net and gets impeded with 22 seconds to go to send the Pens to a second power play. Sidney Crosby wins the o-zone faceoff and the Pens sneak in a goal before intermission. It looks like Rickard Rakell passes out from the corner in a hurried manner and not the best positioned offering. But Crosby is able to hack at the puck while turning toward it just the same, and hey, it works to jump up high and beat the goaltender Spencer Knight. 1-0 with 15 seconds left.

My goodness...

Sid makes it look so effortless ‍ pic.twitter.com/N8ARFdH8iX

— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2025​

Shots are 11-7 PIT. They’re lucky Rinzel didn’t score on them early, but otherwise it’s a deserved score based on the action so far.

Second period​

Very interesting little changes in the lines, Ville Koivunen and Rutger McGroarty have traded spots. The immediate result is Koivunen sends Crosby in for a mini-breakaway 15 seconds into the second period with a great saucer pass. Knight makes the save on Crosby but it’s a cheeky start and new look.

It takes until the second shift for that new first line to score. Bryan Rust does a great job on the back pressure to pop up the stick of rookie Frank Nazar (gotta be hard on the puck, rook!) and win it back. Rust feeds Koivunen, who makes another great cross-ice pass, this time to Erik Karlsson. Karlsson wires in a shot for his 200th career goal and increase the score to 2-0 Pens.

NHL GOALS!

Take a bow, EK65! pic.twitter.com/mQuDjeglaD

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 9, 2025​

Koivunen nearly records his first NHL goal with a baseball swing on a puck out of mid-air that had a lot of pepper on it. Great chance.

Everything is mostly going the Pens’ way but then Ryan Graves telegraphs a partner pass back around his own net that Tyler Bertuzzi easily intercepts, being as he’s right there and Graves didn’t have the pass open. Ryan Shea has to reach out and cross-check Bertuzzi down, leading to Chicago’s first power play of the night.

Jarry makes a few saves and Pittsburgh gets out of danger and into the break. Perhaps not so lucky was Rutger McGroarty, felled in the foot area by blocking a shot and leaving under duress.

Shots 21-14 overall, 2-0 lead. Not much but it’s something.

Third period​

Connor Murphy relieves the pressure by knocking a puck out of mid-air and into the stands, drawing the automatic penalty for puck over glass in his d-zone. Pens power play does little with it but shortly after the penalty ends Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin work a give-and-go and Letang makes a vintage move to find the space upstairs on Knight and snipe it in. 3-0 Pittsburgh.

KRIS LETANG GOES UPSTAIRS! pic.twitter.com/SuiXEOSKTr

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 9, 2025​

Chicago has about folded in their tents and go down 4-0. Kevin Hayes puts a shot off Spencer Knight that clicks off his glove and then he can’t do anything about it.

WATCH OUT.

It's big Hayesy on a big break pic.twitter.com/NPcFw8xK2I

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 9, 2025​

Hayes adds one more for the road, faking and feinting if he’s going to go inside or outside of rookie Kevin Korchinski (gotta be tough on the body, rook!). The young defender gets out-wiled by the wily veteran and Danton Heinen makes a nice incoming pass for Hayes to pickle stab into the net for his second goal of the night. 5-0 Pens.

And that’s it for that, second shutout of the season for Tristan Jarry who might not have broken much of a sweat in this one.

Some thoughts​

• Since the Pens have worn their alternate jerseys every Tuesday and exclusively on that date this season, this might be it for the ol’ Snoop Dogg jersey on the ice for a while, being as the team is hinting at new alternates for next season.
• Pretty nuts that Crosby has registered at least a point in 17 of his last 19 games, and 24 of the last 27.
• For the Bob Grove tweet o’ the night: this marks Crosby’s 120th first goal of a game, passing Teemu Selanne for fifth all time. You might have heard of the first four on the list: Ovechkin, Jagr, Howe and Brett Hull.
• While sticking with twitter, we saw today is the 2-year anniversary of Crosby hitting 1,500 points. Fast forward to today and he’s up to 1,683 after tonight. We all always try to bask in it and never lose sight of how amazing of a player he is, but my goodness, what a career.
• Great game for Koivunen. He’s had his moments over the previous four games to stand out in little flashes here and there but tonight was one where he looked comfortable and was able to make plays all over the ice a lot more consistently. The level of competition wasn’t sky high but it’s great to see him be able to settle in right before our eyes and figure out how to operate on an NHL rink. He’s proven to be a quick study, the progress he’s made has been visible and very impressive.
• A+++ idea to put Koivunen and Crosby together, by the way. Even though the internet is mainly for bemoaning perceived coaching incompetencies that lever was pulled at the right time.
• Speaking of internet bitching sessions, happy 200 goals to Erik Karlsson! He could well finish in the top-10 of defenders in scoring in the league this season. Stylistically he drives many crazy and his mistakes are unavoidable but that’s a big time number of goals for a blueliner.
• The NHL seems to love to have late-season PIT/CHI games, but we’re begging you: find a way to get one, if not both, of these games over with by January next season. Too much of a slog when both teams are buried.
• McGroarty did not play in the third period after leaving from blocking the shot in the foot area, so that stinks. Hate to see top players risk injury on the PK blocking shots but it’s sometimes unavoidable but never not annoying to see an important player get hurt on the PK from getting struck by a puck.

The Pens made that one look easy. Next up is a couple of days off and a trip to New Jersey for the final road game of the season on Friday night.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/8/...p-pens-cruise-to-5-0-win-over-hapless-chicago

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Former Pens GM Ray Shero dead at 62

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Shero served as General Manager for the Penguins from 2006 to 2014.

Former Penguins General Manager Ray Shero has died.

The Minnesota Wild organization, where Shero had been serving as Senior Advisor to General Manager Bill Guerin, announced his passing Wednesday afternoon.

“Our hearts go out to his family and friends and the countless people he impacted in the hockey community throughout his successful career,” the Wild said in a statement. “Ray was the best. He will be greatly missed by all of us.”

The Minnesota Wild is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Ray Shero. pic.twitter.com/9mqkjaR5ms

— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) April 9, 2025​

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman also released a statement, saying in part that “Ray Shero’s smile and personality lit up every room he walked into and brightened the day of everyone he met.”

Shero served as General Manager for the Penguins from 2006 to 2014 and was responsible for assembling the Pittsburgh team that won the Stanley Cup in 2009.

Photo by Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images

Along with his years spent in Pittsburgh, Shero spent more than 30 years working in the NHL in roles with the Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, and Minnesota Wild.

Shero was also heavily involved with USA Hockey outside of his roles in the NHL.

Ray Shero was 62 years old.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/9/24404750/former-pens-gm-ray-shero-dead-at-62

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Dubas: “We have holes on our defense that we’re going to have to address in the off-season”

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

The Penguins’ GM speaks on his radio show

Kyle Dubas had his final GM Show of the season.

If you missed the season finale of the "GM Show" with @penguins GM/President of Hockey Operations its available on our @SoundCloud. Karlsson's future, Jarry's recent play are all topics of discussion.https://t.co/oiPzMjUOaB pic.twitter.com/cjqNmCdeaK

— Penguins Live (@penguinslive) April 9, 2025​

Some thoughts on it:

• The show’s host, Josh Getzoff, asked Dubas where he was when Alex Ovechkin broke the record. Interestingly enough, Dubas was at the Oshawa/Brampton OHL playoff game. Notable player in that game: one of 2025’s projected top picks Porter Martone. There was also Simon Wang, a 6’5” defender born in China that moved to North America to chase his dream of playing pro hockey. Wang was up to 31st in Bob McKenzie’s mid-season scouting, he probably doesn’t fit to be a top-10 pick from the Penguins. But if they get the Rangers pick or look to trade excess picks towards the beginning of the first round? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. As a big OHL proponent, Dubas is no stranger to keeping up with that league in general and if nothing else he put eyes on Martone in a playoff setting. (Martone’s team lost 4-1 and he didn’t score a point).
• Dubas talked about how Rutger McGroarty was about to get a scan after suffering a foot injury Tuesday night against Chicago. “We’ll push him but we’ll proceed with great caution and make sure there’s nothing longer range, if there’s anything on the scan”.
• Talking about players getting up for games once eliminated. Dubas said he doesn’t like to address the team during the season, pointing towards the coach’s area but said he was clear what the team was looking for down the stretch from individuals and the time would be “informative” to the organization as they move ahead for next year.
• On Jarry’s recent stretch of going 3-0-1 in his last four games. Dubas said he was happy for Tristan, when someone has to go through struggles and pull themselves back and show their capability shows a lot. Called Jarry excellent against Chicago and said, “the goal is he uses [the end of the season] to propel himself into the off-season and have a great off-season and come back knowing he’s been in the depths. You don’t want to go back there [to Wilkes], so let’s get after it and stay after it and get ready to come back next year ready to roll. He can end this year on a high note yet with three games left”. Also mentioned that Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov are expected to push up the organizational ranks. “Those guys are comin’, and we’re not going to stop them” Dubas said of his young netminders and hoped competition would bring out the best in Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic.
• Getzoff turned his focus to impending RFA Conor Timmins and if the Penguins would be looking to keep him for next season based on what he has shown. “I think we certainly will [keep him],” Dubas said. “I just think with that way he played, we got lucky at the deadline that a lot of the moves happened in quick succession at the end [just before the deadline].” Mentioned how when the Maple Leafs were able to add Brandon Carlo the roster and cap situation led to the Pens getting the opportunity to add Timmins. “We wanted to give him the runway to play, play a lot and show what he could do. I think he’s made the most of it, that’s really what we’re looking for. I think he’s showed potential to be someone that can grow with the group.” Dubas said he thought they were “just scratching the surface” of what Timmins is capable of and that he should be a good fit for the Pens moving forward.
• On the lightning rod known as Erik Karlsson and how he figures in for the future. Dubas said he tries to put himself in Karlsson’s situation of leaving Ottawa and going to San Jose all the while both places eventually moved into rebuilds in a flat cap era. Dubas said he thinks Karlsson can help bring the Pens back to winning but that it’s a matter of consistency, pointing to how good he was at 4 Nations and sometimes in Pittsburgh. Dubas cites players in Pittsburgh who have bought in during their mid-30s to stay at their best as examples of playing at a high level. “I firmly believe that if we have the right partner, and maybe it’s Conor Timmins, maybe it’s somebody else. We have holes on our defense that we’re going to have to address in the off-season. One of those questions will be finding, whether it’s Conor or somebody else, the right partner for [Karlsson]. Regardless of what the noise is, I firmly believe he can be someone that helps the team come through where we’re at and bring us back to contention.”
• On Koivunen’s jump in the first year of North American hockey: Dubas said you never know how much of a challenge it could be for any individual to handle it. Koivunen has built great confidence and taken to the skating and speed program in Wilkes and they’ve tracked objective gains. Cited Koivunen’s competitiveness and how he pushes to control games at the net and get under their skin of opponents to grow. “With both [Koivunen and McGroarty] it shows what the model is going to be, which is: take steady steps, it’s not always make the team right away, take off right away. Sometimes it’s a difficult, boring, challenging, monotonous process, brick by boring brick. Earn your way up when you’re ready to do so, I think it’s always great when you have the guys come up in waves together. The two of them were recalled..together. It was a great moment for the development program to see them come up and play the way they have.”
• Talks about how in the AHL they need and want to have players getting used to playing into May and June, cites the Washington/Hershey dynamic of winning the last two Calder Cups and some players that have grown into helping at the NHL level.
• When asked if Bryan Rust was a core piece of the team, Dubas said “I’ve always had him in there. I know there have been three guys who have been here for two decades but in my mind when I think of the Pittsburgh Penguins I have Rust in that mix. He’s everything we want to be about: his character, preparation, work ethic...He’s a great example for any younger player coming in” due to having to grind his way to the top as a mid-round pick.
• Synopsis for the off-season plans: calls every summer massive. Says it’s two weeks of grinding on pro scouting for free agency and draft, mentioning they have a lot of draft capital that they can use by taking picks or using the picks in trades to target NHL talent. Again goes back to the holes in the defense that they will have to examine what could be available in trades or free agency. Dubas mentions the process can’t be rushed and there’s no one magical move, it will be management’s responsibility to continue working at accomplishing their goals of improvement.

—

A general manager’s words can be read into too much or too little, it’s best to think of them as a snapshot in time, which is really all they are. Dubas sounded very confident today, on April 9th, that both Jarry and Karlsson would be in the mix for next season. Thinking only in this moment, that makes sense.

Dubas also once talked confidently in 2023 about anticipation about Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund only to trade them shortly after. By default it’s only logical that everyone still under contract has to have a positive shine place on them in the moment. Until they don’t.

Will that point come with Karlsson and/or Jarry this summer? That remains to be seen. Perhaps the team will decide to move in a different direction, or like Dubas said today maybe the solution that works best is going out to find Karlsson a capable partner in hopes that will smooth out some of the issues that have popped up. It doesn’t make the comments and mindset of today meaningless but it’s not an ironclad promise either. What’s true now might not be true in a month or two, but all we can do is sort through the information offered.

It’s clear that the blueline is shaping up to be the key area to watch over the summer. Dubas freely admitted there is work to be done to bring in quality. Acknowledging the issue there is one thing, being able to solve it will be another matter. The Penguins could badly use one, if not two, legitimate top-four left handed defensemen if they are serious about improving their team. How Dubas and his squad goes about tackling that issue will be one of the more interesting aspects of the upcoming off-season. Based on today’s comments that will include Conor Timmins but the manager has let it be known the defense is a key area to be addressed.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/9/...karlsson-rutger-mcgroarty-ville-koivunen-pens

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Injuries strike Penguins, 3 emergency recalls made, different forward lines in use

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

A slew of reinforcements from the AHL arrive

Mike Sullivan has mentioned recently the Penguins have some players banged up. That wasn’t for show, three forwards were recalled this morning from the AHL under emergency conditions.

The Penguins have recalled forwards Emil Bemstrom, Vasily Ponomarev and Valtteri Puustinen from the @WBSPenguins (AHL) on an emergency basis. pic.twitter.com/3xQNaAwxwV

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 10, 2025​

According to Wes Crosby, all of Rutger McGroarty, Blake Lizotte, Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto were not on the ice this morning for practice. Lizotte missed the previous game but the other three played. McGroarty left injured after blocking a shot with his foot. GM Kyle Dubas said the team was awaiting scans of the foot to reveal how much damage was done. Unfortunately the news wasn’t good, McGroarty will join the others as being out for the season. Tommy Novak also got the plug pulled.

The following @penguins players are out for the remainder of the season per Head Coach Mike Sullivan:

•Noel Acciari
•Blake Lizotte
•Rutger McGroarty
•Matt Nieto
•Tommy Novak

— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) April 10, 2025​

As a result, here were the lines on the ice in PA today before the Pens set off to New Jersey for their final road game of the 2024-25 season against the Devils tomorrow night.

#Pens lines:
Koivunen--Crosby--Rust
Heinen--Malkin--Rakell
Dewar--Hayes--Puustinen
Koppanen--Ponomarev--Bemstrom

D:
Grzelcyk--Letang
Timmins--Karlsson
Graves--Shea

— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) April 10, 2025​

It’s tough luck for Acciari, who recently blocked his team-leading 100th shot and has managed to play in all 79 of the games this season so far. Acciari has found a way to answer the bell through a myriad of bumps and bruises throughout the season but he won’t quite make it to the finish line for appearing in every game. That leaves Pittsburgh with only two players looking to maintain perfect attendance this season, defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and Erik Karlsson.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/10...y-recalls-made-different-forward-lines-in-use

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: End-of-season injury bug

Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

Many Penguins will miss the final three games of the regular season.

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

The injury bug is appearing at the tail end of the season to give the Pittsburgh Penguins some unwanted news. Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte, Rutger McGroarty, Matt Nieto, and Tommy Novak will all miss the remainder of the regular season with injuries, prompting the Penguins to make several emergency recalls and shuffle the forward lines around. [PensBurgh]

Valtteri Puustinen and Vasily Ponomarev, two of those emergency recalls, are getting a quick taste of NHL action before returning to the AHL Penguins for the Calder Cup playoffs, something they are excited for. [Trib Live]

Kyle Dubas will once again oversee an international roster as the general manager for Team Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Championships. [KDKA]

Former Penguins general manager Ray Shero’s sudden death on Wednesday prompted an outpouring of condolences from many around the hockey world, including from our own Gretz, who penned a personal story detailing how Ray Shero’s guidance in the early years of the Crosby-Malkin era was crucial to steering the Penguins into championship glory with an aggressive mindset that helped define how the Penguins’ front office operated for the better part of 20 years. [PensBurgh]

ICYMI: The Pittsburgh stars were out at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday night for Plum native Pat McAfee’s ‘Big Night Aht’ event, which included appearances from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, among many others. [PensBurgh]

News and notes from around the NHL...​

FUTURE PENGUIN? (I say, only kidding... maybe?) Brock Boeser said he doesn’t expect to return to the Vancouver Canucks next season. [NHL]

Will any player be able to challenge Wayne Gretzky—err—Alex Ovechkin’s goals record? [Sportsnet]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/11...-shero-crosby-malkin-dubas-nhl-boeser-canucks

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Random Penguins thoughts: Young player impact, lottery odds and Tristan Jarry

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

Some random thoughts on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Checking in with some random thoughts on the Pittsburgh Penguins with three games to play this season.

Young players bringing new energy​

I was not really sure what to expect from forwards Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen when they were called up to the NHL, but it was at least going to give us something different to watch as the Penguins played out the remainder of the regular season schedule. Now that they are actually on the ice and playing in Pittsburgh, it is really easy to start dreaming on what their potential can be in the very near future.

They look like legitimate prospects, and players that could potentially make a significant impact as soon as next season.

That duo has brought some new life and energy to the team, with the Penguins going 3-1-1 in their first five games and dramatically outplaying pretty much every team they have faced along the way — including three very good playoff teams in Ottawa, Dallas and St. Louis.

In Koivunen’s case, he just looks like a skilled playmaker that sees the ice well, moves the puck well and has a some creative flare to his game. It has not produced a goal for himself yet, but it is not for a lack of chances and he is also finding the scoresheet by setting up his teammates. He looks like the real deal.

McGroarty simply looks like somebody that is going to find a home on Sidney Crosby’s wing for the foreseeable future, while also giving the captain the exact type of winger that seems to excel next to him.

They have both been given big ice time, big roles, and they have mostly excelled in them.

Small sample sizes, yes, but it is still a very good first impression for both players. If the Penguins are going to turn this thing around relatively quickly they need prospects like them to pan out.

The only downside to all of this is McGroarty’s injury that is going to sideline him for the remainder of the regular season. That takes away one of the key things to watch over the next few games. But Koivunen is still there, and he has a chance to finish off what has been a strong season between the AHL and NHL by really establishing himself as a potential top-six player going into next season.

What to make of Tristan Jarry’s finish to the season​

Tristan Jarry has been back in the Penguins lineup for exactly a month now, and they have no more answers on him than they did before he was sent down to the American Hockey League.

The good news: He has two shutouts since returning, and four of his best save percentage performances have come since his recall.

The bad news: He has also posted three of his four worst save percentage games since his recall while also being benched twice in 12 starts.

The highs and lows are still dramatic, and you still never really know what you are going to get from him on any given night.

The overall news: His .902 save percentage since his recall is about league average, and 12th out of 24 goalies that have appeared in at least 10 games over that stretch. It is also a nice step up from the .886 mark he had prior to being sent down.

The question is what does that mean for the offseason and his future?

As exciting as Sergei Murashov is as a prospect, I can not really envision a scenario where he is a realistic option to start next season in the NHL. He might very well make his debut at some point next season, he might get real playing time later in the season, but I do not think the Penguins are going to rush him into anything when he has, to this point, played just 40 games of pro hockey in North America and only 14 games — as of this publication — in the American Hockey League.

Beyond him, Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist are all under team control for next season so they still have NHL options without having to rush anybody (Murashov) or dip into the free agency or trade market. The options for both are especially grim for teams that need a goalie upgrade. Which makes me wonder if his late-season improvement could spark some sort of trade interest in Jarry. The free agent market is AWFUL for goalies, and unless somebody wants to gamble on John Gibson, or somebody totally unexpected becomes available, I do not see much in terms of hypothetical trades on the horizon this offseason.

It is bad out there for goalie-needy teams.

Do you try to find a salary dump-for-salary dump move in the offseason? Do you try and see if he can sustain some of this late-season play and maybe increase his value during the first half of the season?

Draft lottery watch​

The Penguins enter play on Friday in the No. 7 spot in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery with a 6.5 percent chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick.

The New York Rangers are currently in the No. 12 spot and owning a top-13 protected pick, with currently zero chance of the No. 1 overall pick.

I wonder how high the pick would have to be for the Rangers to exercise their option to protect it this season? If it is, say, No. 10, 11 or 12 ... would they just take the hit and send it to Pittsburgh to keep a potential Gavin McKenna pick in their back pocket for next season?

Or do the Rangers say, “we are going to be better next season, we will keep the top-12 pick this season and take our chances on the 2026 pick?”

I know which way I would be leaning and hoping if I am the Penguins.

(It is that the Rangers keep this year’s pick, because I have little faith the Rangers are going to fix their mess this offseason and two potential lottery picks in the McKenna draft would be something to watch.)

Big milestones to watch ​

• Sidney Crosby needs three points in the next three games to record another 90-point season. It would be his ninth 90-point season, with three of those coming after his age 35 season. Bonkers numbers. Injuries are the only thing that has kept him from having even more in his career, but the continued production into his late 30s is the stuff of legends.
• Bryan Rust needs one more goal for a new career-high (29) and two more goals for his first ever 30-goal season.
• Rickard Rakell needs one more goal for a new career-high (35).

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/11...-player-impact-lottery-odds-and-tristan-jarry

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Remembering Ray Shero

Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We lost an important figure in the story of the Penguins

I haven’t said much about the passing of Ray Shero, perhaps out of shock and needing a bit of time to process it. You can talk about the professional side, and there’s a lot to go with there.

Shero came to the Penguins in May 2006 at a critical time. The team had Sidney Crosby, who just put up 100+ points as an 18-year old. They would work on signing Evgeni Malkin. Marc-Andre Fleury was the rare high goalie draft pick and made it to the big league early. The pieces were there but not quite adding up.

The 2005-06 season didn’t go the way anyone thought it would; the Pens were a mess they tried to sign a bunch of older players (Mark Recchi, Sergei Gonchar, Ziggy Palffy, John LeClair) and the results were sloppy. Mario Lemieux had to retire mid-season due to a medical condition. Palffy literally quit on the team halfway through the season after taking a massive hit and noping his way back to Slovakia. Gonchar would settle in but had the yips in his first season in Pittsburgh. The game passed LeClair by during the lockout. The salary cap was still new enough that no one quite could know when the Pens would arrive, or if they even would. Let’s not forget the rebuilding Capitals at the same time wouldn’t get out of the second round of the playoffs until 2018. Having Crosby and Pittsburgh become a champion in hindsight might have seemed preordained, but there was a lot work to be done to make sure it happened.

Doing just that and steadying the Pens while elevating them was an over-looked accomplishment that Shero led the way on. It’s easy to jump straight to the 2008 trade deadline and Marian Hossa as the key moment — and for good reason since that was a major statement when Pittsburgh traded former and future first round picks for a rental player. But getting to that point was important too; Shero drafted Jordan Staal, not as flashy as Nicklas Backstrom or Phil Kessel but a great fit. Shero traded for Gary Roberts and that set a tone while he built up the team to be ready for take-off. Same with Mark Eaton, Petr Sykora, Russian Fedotenko. Not huge, sweeping moves like adding Hossa but important stabilizing pieces along the way. The Penguins morphed from an unorganized mess into a team on the right path because of all of that in totality.

Shero oversaw and directed a lot of modernization that stretched all around the team to elevate them. There’s stories about simple touches like how he would see to it that flowers would be sent to the wife of a new player. Or how in the old Civic Arena there wasn’t even internet access in the coach’s office, which was really more like a closet. One of the criticisms at the end of the Craig Patrick era was that it was a country club mindset and atmosphere among the Penguins. The details didn’t matter. Under Shero, it became very clear, very quickly that getting the details right did in fact matter and it made all the difference in the world to establish a modern, legitimate, world class type of pro sports organization.

The Penguins weren’t that far removed from barely hanging on to existing from the times in 2001 or 2003 where the main consideration in return for trading players like Jaromir Jagr and Alexei Kovalev was the millions of dollars sent back needed to help keep the franchise afloat. Shero’s era brought a lot of class and lifted the team in ways big and small all throughout the organization. It wasn’t a job to be completed in a day but lifted the team, and the mindfulness and efforts ought to be celebrated even before we get to the results of the 2008 Eastern Conference championship followed up by the 2009 Stanley Cup.

In that way, it was almost funny that an outside, misguided knock on Shero was that his success was mainly due to taking over a team that had a young Crosby and Malkin. Sure, that was a factor, but across the board it took an uncommon and unusual amount of managerial work to prepare the organization to reach those heights in the modern setting. Shero wasn’t tagging along with Pens’ rise and success, his work was a key piece of it.

In that light, Shero was the perfect choice at the necessary time to help level the Penguins up. Looking back now, it all happened so fast. The Pens went from clinging to be a semi-viable, barely functioning franchise in the first half of the 2000’s to ending the mighty Red Wings dynasty for good while getting to raise the Stanley Cup at the end of the decade. Success has many fathers and there’s no doubt Shero was a central figure in putting the Penguins in the spot they ended up at over the team’s lifecycle.

I always thought it was funny, but surely no coincidence about how much leadership and quality people Shero would intentionally add, often times stockpiling various other captains or alternate captains. Roberts, Hal Gill, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, Craig Adams, Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Paul Martin. Just off the very top of my head. Some of those worked out on the ice better than others but it was easy to see Shero put value in not just bringing in elite players but went a level beyond that too in trying to get good people involved with the organization. That type of impact can linger beyond the surface longer than might be first realized.

It’s also as fitting as Shero inherited players like Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang, Kennedy, Orpik and Kennedy that would help him get to the top that he would leave a meaningful amount in the works for the next manager (Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Matt Murray, Olli Maatta, Teddy Blueger and Tristan Jarry among others that would pay off for the team in years to come).

That, of course, is just the objective facts of the matter. A capable hockey mind and manager got a certain job at a certain time, was perfectly positioned to establish something special and did just that. There were ups and downs along the way, as there always is for that line of work. The era ended, probably earlier than anyone expected, and everyone moved on. It’s important to remember how it got to be the way it is, though, and Ray Shero will always hold a very special place in Penguin history.

It’s incredibly sad he passed away which came as a shock to even many of his close friends, the suddenness and twists of life exempt no one. His time here ended earlier than anyone would have thought, and we can’t help but be saddened for the family, friends and those left behind.

A very small interaction with Shero has left a smile with me over all these years. It was the very first of the “kids games”, where the arena was packed on a weekend preseason game to give free tickets to youth hockey players in their little jerseys. Lots of enthusiasm and high-pitched prepubescent squeals. Good for business to keep the younger generation interested.

After some digging, it was this game on September 25, 2010, which also was a big event since it was my very first time getting cover the Pens from the press row. That was a blast. The game was a unique one.

There were five fights in the game and even more post-whistle scrums where just about every player from both teams was acting unhinged and going at each other all game long. A young Kris Letang fought two times! As I wrote above, even 15 years later I can still remember Max Talbot (a scratch for this exhibition game) hootin’ and hollerin’ when Letang was getting after it.

By the end of the night even the star players of Rick Nash and Evgeni Malkin squared off in a fight. It was a gongshow of a game. Needless to say, the kids loved every second of the good, clean, off the rails fun, cheering along with youthful vigor every step of the fight-filled way.

When the game was over, a lot of people crowded into the large elevator to make the trip down from the top level. I still remember both myself and Jesse Marshall getting big eyes and looking at each other incredulously when Ray Shero stepped into the elevator. We already had a great experience but now we were in the presence of almost royalty.

I don’t remember who it was but when the doors closed and the trip began, someone said something along the lines of, “jeez, Ray, all these fights on kids day, huh?” and everyone laughed.

Without missing a beat Shero turned and gave one of those Mario-esque little smiles and winks and said, “Well, they gotta see what NHL hockey is all about” and again everyone laughed. Then Shero said something almost under his breath but still out-loud enough for all to hear like, “But I definitely gotta to talk to Tanger, though”. (As a postscript, Letang would go on to get 101 PIMs in the upcoming 2010-11 season, by far his career-high.)

Fleeting as it was, that little memory always brings a laugh. Shero was effortlessly comfortable with where he was and had that type of open personality to let everyone in on the fun. I think that’s been a common theme you have and will see about all the stories coming out about him.

So long and thanks, Ray. As it turns out you helped show a lot of people what not just NHL hockey was all about, but also setup the Penguins for a really great, great journey that we’ve all gotten to enjoy. As the famous line from his father Fred Shero goes, in some regards we all will walk together forever because of it.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/12/24406592/remembering-ray-shero-penguins-gm

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Devils Recap: Malkin and Crosby team up to down New Jersey

Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s Malkin early and Crosby late for the Penguins to take a 4-2 win in New Jersey

Pregame​

It’s a new look lineup for the Penguins in many ways with players shuttling in and out due to injuries.

Hockey ! pic.twitter.com/mMFBghtQhE

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 11, 2025​

The Devils roll out with the following groups, with interestingly enough 1B/backup goalie Jake Allen getting the call in net.

Friday night with the fellas. pic.twitter.com/sHIaoNUt3l

— x – New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 11, 2025​

First period​

Seconds into the game for reasons only known to him, Connor Timmins makes one of the dumbest pinch attempts at the blueline that you will ever see. If you can even see it, being as he takes himself so far out of the play. The Devils jump out the other way and Erik Haula is haulin’ serious ass up the ice. He beats Jarry on the first shot, but what can ya do as a goalie on this?

Got the whole crowd Haulain' just 14 seconds in! pic.twitter.com/mnQpE2p3fZ

— x – New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 11, 2025​

Pittsburgh is on the ropes early, Kevin Hayes has to take the first penalty of the game to try and slow New Jersey down. The Devils get zone time but the Pens escape the power play. They don’t get out completely though, seconds after the penalty expires Cody Glass’s shot clicks off Ondrej Palat and jumps into the net. 2-0 NJD.

Perfect play, Pally. pic.twitter.com/cw0BC6JuS1

— x – New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 11, 2025​

Jarry makes a big save a little later to keep it at 2-0. Evgeni Malkin gets taken down and the Penguins get their first power play. It’s not that great but seconds after it ends they also get a goal. Malkin jams the puck over Allen’s leg, Luke Hughes can’t rescue it from danger and pretty much drags it into his own net. Very strange there. 2-1.

GENO MACHINO PUTTING IN WORK pic.twitter.com/qmsgHTHgaR

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 11, 2025​

All things considered, the Penguins are probably lucky to only be one shot away from tying the game after 20 minutes. Not a great period for them.

Second period​

The Pens get another power play early and this time they score four seconds into it. Malkin unleashes a big shot, the rebound bounces off of Valtteri Puustinen and into the net. 2-2 game. Fortunate bounce, second one of the game that Malkin’s been involved in. Funny how the best players always tend to make the best luck too, isn’t it?

PUUSTY JUST BOUGHT EVERYBODY BIG MACS!

Here's how to cash in your @McDonalds offer: https://t.co/QH7j1DPz1i pic.twitter.com/87fDmcZ5WE

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2025​

Matt Grzlecyk takes a Devil down, so NJ gets back to a power play of their own. Pittsburgh kills it off.

Timmins’ no good night continues with a tripping penalty of his own once the puck and player got behind him but his teammates rise to the occasion again with another successful PK.

Bryan Rust gets his stick slashed out of his hands in the last sequence of play to send Pittsburgh to a power play at the start of the third period.

Despite the early goal, nothing in the last almost 19 minutes of the second. Tie 2-2 game.

Third period​

The Pens don’t score on the power play. Malkin nearly banks a puck in off the back of the goalie from behind the goal line but for once it doesn’t go his way.

Cody Glass high-sticked his former teammate and the Pens got another power play. Bryan Rust worked the puck down to Sidney Crosby on one knee at the front of the net and you already know the ending. 3-2 Pens.

"SIDNEY FROM ONE KNEE, IT'S A GUARANTEE!" pic.twitter.com/k1CBJtuZu5

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2025​

Rust and Crosby combined to salt the game away with an empty netter, this time via a slick pass from the captain to set Rust up for the open look. 4-2.

Some thoughts​

• As mentioned in the preview, the Devils had reason to be mad and focused after scuffing things up in their last game to the tune of losing 7-2 to suddenly lowly Boston. That passed the smell check right from the bat NJ was buzzin’ big time. They were up 2-0 by the time the game was six minutes old and it felt like this one was about to rock out of control, maybe to one of those big blowout losses for the Pens. Pittsburgh was able to get steady and found a way to keep going, fortunately for them the Devs’ hot start melted away just about as quick as it began.
• And while Jarry gave up another first shot goal, not an honest soul and criticize him too much on that one. Looking back in retrospect, Jarry made a sick save when it was 2-0 in the first period. If that goal goes in, the rout might have been on for NJ to skate away with an easy one. But Jarry stopped it and everything else after the first six minutes. Stuff like that will get lost in the shuffle, but that’s playing to give the team a chance. Early in the season (or even a couple weeks ago) Jarry had plenty of games where he wasn’t making that save very often to keep the team somewhat close. These days, he’s making them more frequently.
• Erik Haula only has three goals in 23 career games against the Penguins, I looked it up. Felt like a lot more. Haula was involved in the collision that jammed up Crosby’s wrist earlier in the season against the Pens, so maybe it’s just one of those things where he’s very active and noticeable in games against Pittsburgh in one way or another.
• Still can’t get over how dumb the decision by Timmins was at the very start of the game. That’s not a result of being on the left side, or of coaching, that’s just a terrible read and decision. It’s one play and defense is a game of mistakes but my goodness. The reputation on Timmins coming in was that he will make some costly boneheaded plays now and then, he’s certainly lived up (down?) to that.
• Speaking of defenders making mistakes, Luke Hughes isn’t going to have the Malkin goal on his personal highlight reel. Very easy to Monday Morning QB it from slow motion but he’s gotta just smack that puck forward. That in mind, gotta give Malkin a sly tip of the cap too — he wasn’t trying to power the puck through the goalie, he put a little lift and touch on it to get it up above the skate/pad area and put it in danger.
• Nice to see Puustinen get a goal in his first NHL game since November 15th. Nothing fancy but going to the goal generates rewards sometimes. Puustinen is signed for next year but is sort of in a no man’s land as far as role and expectations go. Does he play 10 NHL games next year? More? Less? It’ll be interesting to see if he gets the chance to find his way into a place with the squad next year after getting shuffled over for most of this one.
• Malkin with points on the first two, he was probably the Pens’ best or at least most standout performer early. Then with it close at the end, Crosby stepped up and does what he does to nail down the GWG and grab another point on a slick pass on the ENG. Pittsburgh’s older players remain formidable even at the end of the season.

The Pens get back at it with a home afternoon game on Sunday against the Bruins.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/11...-malkin-and-crosby-team-up-to-down-new-jersey

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Game Preview: Boston Bruins @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4/13/2025

Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images

For the first time since 2006, the Bruins and Penguins are both non-playoff teams. They meet up tonight for the penultimate game of the season.

Who: Boston Bruins (32-39-9, 73 points, 8th place Atlantic Division @ Pittsburgh Penguins (33-35-12, 78 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 3:30 p.m. ET

How to Watch: truTV, TNT, SportsNet Pittsburgh+ and streaming on Max

Pens’ Path Ahead: Just one game left in the season after this as the Penguins prepare to wrap up the 2024-25 campaign at home against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

Opponent Track: The Bruins recently tumbled to the bottom of the Atlantic with a 10-game losing streak before alternating wins and losses through their last four games. Most recently Boston dropped a 5-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks at home on Thursday.

Season Series: The Pens and Bruins have split the season series so far. Philip Tomasino scored the third-period game-winner and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves in a 2-1 road win on Nov. 29. The Penguins were then unable to come back from an early deficit on March 1 in a 3-2 loss at home.

Getting to know the Bruins​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Morgan Geekie - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak

Pavel Zacha - Casey Mittelstadt - Fabian Lysell

Marat Khusnutdinov - Fraser Minten - Riley Duran

Cole Koepke - John Beecher - Jakub Lauko

DEFENSEMEN

Nikita Zadorov / Henri Jokiharju

Mason Lohrei / Andrew Peeke

Michael Callahan / Parker Wotherspoon

Goalies: Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo

Scratches: Mark Kastelic (upper body), Ian Mitchell, Vinni Lettieri

IR: Charlie McAvoy (shoulder), Hampus Lindholm (knee)

• Former Providence College standout and 2020 sixth-rounder Riley Duran made his NHL debut during Thursday’s loss to the Blackhawks. Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco said Saturday that the Bruins’ hope is to use the remainder of the season to “keep the group energized and create some competition with each other internally,” and Duran could be one of the players looking to earn a roster spot next season.

Player stats​

(via hockeydb)

• The Bruins have had a lot of issues this season, but David Pastrnak isn’t one of them. He recorded his 100th point of the season on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils, joining Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito as the only Bruins to record three straight 100-point season.
• It’s hard to overstate how good Pastrnak has been for an underperforming Bruins team this season. As of Tuesday, he had factored in on 47.2 percent of the Bruins’ goals, per WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin. That’s the highest single-player percentage in the NHL. If the Bruins were a contender, that could be enough to earn him Hart Trophy consideration.

But the Bruins are not a playoff team. For the first time since 2006, both the Bruins and Penguins are out of the playoff picture. (For the first time in NHL history, the New York Rangers are, too.)

• The Bruins’ offseason decisions range from deciding on a permanent head coach (Sacco was given an interim tag when he took over for Jim Montgomery in November) to reimagine a lineup that could look completely different in 2025-26.

The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa recently pointed out what the Bruins lineup would look like with only players who are currently under contract for next season:

TBD - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak

TBD - Casey Mittelstadt - TBD

TBD - Elias Lindholm - TBD

TBD - TBD - Mark Kastelic

TBD - Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm - TBD

Nikita Zadorov - Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman / Joonas Korpisalo

The Bruins will have to make decisions regarding with RFAs including Mason Lohrei and Morgan Geekie this summer.

And now for the Pens​

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Ville Koivunen - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell

Connor Dewar - Kevin Hayes - Valtteri Puustinen

Joona Koppanen - Vasily Ponomarev - Philip Tomasino*

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Kris Letang

Erik Karlsson / Conor Timmins

Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea

Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Vladislav Kolyachonok, Tommy Novak (lower body, out for season), Boko Imama (bicep surgery, out for season), Philip Tomasino (concussion), Blake Lizotte (out for season), Noel Acciari (out for season), Rutger McGroarty (foot, out for NHL season)

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

*Tomasino, who has missed three games with a concussion, wore a full-contact jersey for the latter part of Saturday’s practice. Mike Sullivan said he’s going to be a game-time decision this afternoon.

• The Penguins haven’t finished with a points percentage below .500 since Sidney Crosby’s rookie 2005-06 season. The team currently has a points percentage of .488 and will officially finish below the .500 mark if they lose either against the Bruins or Caps.

In terms of long-term aspirations, that mark won’t matter nearly as much as the Penguins’ draft position. Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dave Molinari still checked in with Bryan Rust about how he felt about breaking the streak.

“I’m not sure too many people in here have thought about it,” Rust told Molinari. “But once it’s brought up, we’d like to probably finish .500 or better.”

• Speaking of draft position: the Pens head into Sunday with a 6.0 percent chance at the top pick and 6.2 percent chance at No. 2, per Tankathon.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/13...w-boston-bruins-pittsburgh-penguins-4-13-2025

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Penguins/Bruins Recap: Pens get one game closer to end in loss

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

It wasn’t pretty for the Penguins on Sunday against Boston, but at least it’s almost over

Pregame​

The Penguins get Philip Tomasino back in the lineup after he had missed a few games with a concussion, otherwise they’re about the same as they have been recently with Tristan Jarry in the net.

Today's lineup vs. Boston pic.twitter.com/GQyNnAWedI

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 13, 2025​

Here’s what is left of the once-proud Bruins team that has had almost all recognizable faces and pieces besides David Pastrnak stripped away due to recent trades or injuries.

The lines this afternoon: pic.twitter.com/l6OrlMBXHA

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 13, 2025​

First period​

Pittsburgh set a tone they would mostly follow throughout the game in the first period, and that’s not a compliment. Sleepy, unimpressive, barely there, you pick the term.

But for all that decidedly meh play, the Pens almost escape the period at a 0-0 score. Almost being the operative word. With time running down in the period, Pastrnak throws the puck on net. Elias Lindholm is there to jam it in. Not the prettiest or smoothest goal but there’s still 1.6 seconds to play which makes it good enough for a 1-0 Boston lead at the break.

Just in time pic.twitter.com/nAFF2eZjoS

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 13, 2025​

Shots are 13-6 BOS in the first.

Second period​

The second periods of games have been a disaster zone for the Pens and today was no different. 22-year old Fabian Lysell gets his first career goal in his 11th game thanks to three Pittsburgh players all heading towards the corner...While they’re on the PK. That math doesn’t add up for the defenders, leaving Lysell wide open directly in front of the goal. Bad things tend to happen with that. 2-0.

The first for Fabian pic.twitter.com/b4chGunqeA

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 13, 2025​

Matt Grzelcyk’s gap on Pastranak, if you can even call it that, was about the size of the Grand Canyon and allowed the Bruins to make another play. They actually score twice on the sequence after it was tough to tell Morgan Geekie’s initial shot went bar down and bounced in behind the goal-line. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, only one goal counts on the play. 3-0.

pic.twitter.com/C7ErK4RaJL

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 13, 2025​

The Pens finally get on the board late in the second period on a power play. Tomasino basically scores the goal off the legs of Rickard Rakell who is posted in front of the net. 3-1 game, on Rakell’s career-high 35th goal of the season. He owes Tomasino a cold one for that.

And a PPG for PGH pic.twitter.com/9yYUTKtyfR

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 13, 2025​

Third period​

The Pens start the third on the power play and have the opportunity to crawl back into the game but they aren’t able to do that on this day.

The third period drags along and Lysell turns back into a shove from Kris Letang. The refs call it boarding, which it wasn’t. If anything it could have been a rough on Letang for putting his hand on the guy but a rookie turning into a vet like that usually doesn’t draw a call. As such, Letang goes nuts on the refs. The zebras had previously given Nikita Zadorov and extra two minute minor for the rare “abuse of officials” call and would have been within their rights to ring Letang up for extras too but they take mercy on him, perhaps as a measure of realizing he had a decent gripe. Then when Letang got out of the box he Mack truck ran over a Boston player on a clean hit but obviously a play he made to take out his frustration and anger on the refs. Overall a nothing play but the sequence was amusing on a day where not that much was going on.

Boston scores on an empty netter to salt the game away.

As the game reaches it’s final whistle, Lysell plays a little too hard to the final whistle and draws the ire of Grzelcyk who bashes into him after the final whistle to send a message. The teams pretty much let it slide at that point, because what’s the use? 4-1, Boston wins.

Some thoughts​

• Not a lot to take from this one, just two teams playing out the stretch in an afternoon game.
• If this time of year is a tryout or at least an information gathering purpose for what’s ahead (which it is), what to make of someone like Connor Dewar? He only played 13:24 and was credited with a te am-high six hits and added two blocked shots. But to the eye he hasn’t stood out in a while, in this game or recently. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes for players like him in a contract year that may or may not be back next year. Has he done enough to merit bringing back?
• On that note, it was a nice return for Tomasino. It always seems like as a general rule that players coming back from concussions understandably aren’t that noticeable upon returning but his play with the puck was there. The assist today matched Tomasino’s offensive output over his previous eight games. If Rutger McGroarty didn’t suffer an injury, it’s debatable whether or not Tomasino would have even been on the power play today. Lots of angles to consider there for his situation too. In the ideal world the Pens probably try to “re-home” vets like Danton Heinen, Noel Acciari and even Kevin Hayes this off-season to open up space for the Dewar’s and Tomasino’s of the roster. That objective could be easier said than done, however.
• The good news from this game is that the loss sends the Pens on a clearer path to the 7th spot for the lottery draft. If that happens there’s still a 42.1% chance Pittsburgh would pick 8th or 9th in the first round should they get jumped by someone behind them winning the lottery but gives them a 6.5% chance at the first pick and 6.7% shot at the second pick, with a 44.4% probability of retaining the 7th spot. Pittsburgh still needs Buffalo to do a little something in their final three games and the Sabres do have a 7-2-1 record in their last 10 so there’s reason to believe they will come through.
• Since the Rangers pick is important too, their recent bad play has them on track to likely end up in the 10th-12th range. NYR has the option to flip a top-13 pick to Pittsburgh if they choose but it would be difficult to see any team voluntarily walking away if it ends up being 10th overall. We won’t know until and when they make the call but NYR’s late-season slide is trending towards where it would become difficult to not elect to send Pittsburgh their 2026 first rounder.
• Today’s loss officially clinches a losing season for Pittsburgh in the sense, they now are assured more regulation losses than wins and can’t get to 82 out of the possible 164 points available and will finish under .500 in points percentage. Of course, they’ve only won 33 out of 81 games so in some regards it’s been a losing season for quite a while, but in terms of NHL math a losing year is now official. It’s the first time the Pens will have more games played than points in the standings since way back in Crosby’s rookie year of 2005-06.

It would be nice if the Pens could play again tomorrow or Tuesday and put this long season behind them, but the schedule isn’t so accommodating. Pittsburgh has to wait a few more days yet until Thursday to play the Capitals and see the curtain come down on the 2024-25 season.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/13...recap-pens-get-one-game-closer-to-end-in-loss

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

The five most important people to the Pittsburgh Penguins rebuild

Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images

These five people will have a significant impact on the the Pittsburgh Penguins current process.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season, and while the results over that stretch have been the same this season still feels different and an important switch for the franchise. Of those three seasons, and even going back to the previous four playoff seasons where they were eliminated in the opening round, this is the first time everything they did from a team-building a roster standpoint was done so with an eye toward the future.

They were trying to win a year ago.

They were definitely trying to win the year before that.

They were all-in committed in the previous four years.

This season? The same urgency was not there. The roster moves were not the same. The roster construction was different, and they were clearly looking for different returns in the trades they made. This is officially the first season of rebuilding for the Kyle Dubas Penguins.

While it remains to be seen how far they are going to take this and what their timeline actually is, it is pretty clear that the big picture is of greater importance than the short-term picture.

Now that the rebuild is here, I wanted to take a look at five of the most important people for the Penguins in that process.

1. Kyle Dubas

This should be the obvious name at the top because Dubas is the person whose vision is going to dictate what direction the Penguins take, how the team is built and whether or not this process is successful. It is a big job.

While there have been some head-scratching moves and decisions that have not worked out as hoped or expected at the NHL level, Dubas has done a strong job of positioning the Penguins for this process. They have more draft picks than any team in the NHL over the next three years, and a lot of them come in the first two rounds of those classes. Those picks will not only put his front office’s scouting and player development skills to the test, they will also put his asset management skills to the test as you have to imagine at least some of those draft picks will get traded (either for more picks, to move up, or for more immediate help).

He has added some high upside young players into the organization, has a significant amount of salary cap space to work with in the coming offseasons and still has a couple of trade chips he can play at any time (specifically with Rickard Rakell, and potentially Erik Karlsson).

He has the resources and the assets. Now it is on him to utilize them.

2. Sidney Crosby

I know he is 37 years old and is going to be 38 years old next season. He is closer to retirement than he is to his peak. That does not mean he will not play a big role in this process over the next few years.

He is still under contract for two more seasons, and it is worth wondering if he has anything beyond that contract. He very well might. As long as he plays for the Penguins, he IS the Penguins. He is the face of the franchise. He is the captain. He theoretically has the most power of any player in the organization. He can play a big role in helping to pass the torch from his era into the next era.

Along with that, he can play a pivotal role in the development of some of the team’s best young prospects, specifically forwards Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen.

It is only going to help those guys to have an opportunity to play next to one of the greatest players in NHL history, learn from him, and develop as NHL players as his teammate.

Whether it is as a linemate, or in practice, or just in the day-to-day process of being a professional, having a player and person like Crosby around for the early stages of this process is going to be invaluable.

You still need professionals that can set a standard. This is as good as you can get for that sort of leadership.

3. Mystery player(s) not yet in the organization

Yeah I know that is vague. Stick with me here for a minute.

The Penguins farm system has improved significantly over the course of the past year. When The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked farm systems during the 2023-24 season the Penguins were about as bad as you could possibly get in those rankings. Just one calendar year later, they are up to No. 20 and have made a significant climb. They not only have legitimate NHL prospects, they have some depth to the system as well.

What the system is lacking is a true, top-tier, potentially franchise-changing STAR. A No. 1 center. An all-star winger. A No. 1 defender. Somebody that can step in and be a player you build the whole thing around for the next 10-15 seasons.

McGroarty and Koivunen look promising, and there is real reason to be excited about them. They could — perhaps should — be top-six scorers as soon as next season. But they are probably not going to be the focal point of a rebuild. They might be a significant part of the next core group, but expecting either of them to be a superstar is probably setting too high of a bar or expectation.

The Penguins have three first-round picks over the next two years, and there is a good chance they could be fairly high.

They already know they are going to have a top-10 pick this season. As of Monday, they have a 6 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick.

They might have another lottery pick next season.

They also have that New York Rangers draft pick in one of the next two years. The Rangers can protect it if it is in the top-13 this season. That pick is currently 10th. Would the Rangers choose to protect it and make a top-10 pick? Or would they send it to the Penguins in the hopes of keeping a potential Gavin McKenna pick next year? Do the Rangers have enough belief in themselves to fix their issues and assume they are going to be picking in the 20s next season?

Either way, I kind of like those options for the Penguins. They either get a second top-10 selection this season and the opportunities that creates, or they get another pick next season that could be another lottery selection in a draft with a true franchise changing talent at the top (not to mention a deeper class in general).

Heck, maybe Chris Drury (or whoever is general managing the Rangers this offseason) should be on this list.

However it ends up playing out, those picks are likely to jump to the top of their prospect rankings. The development of them will be huge.

4. Sergei Murashov

Not to put too much pressure on a goalie who just turned 21-years old that has played 40 games of pro hockey in North America, but this could be a player that can rapidly change the short-term and long-term outlook of the franchise.

Goalies can — and do — change everything for a hockey team. Great ones turn bad teams into fringe playoff teams, fringe playoff teams into solid playoff teams, solid playoff teams into contenders, and contenders into champions. Bad ones have the exact opposite impact. Remember what I said up above about the Penguins lacking somebody that could be a franchise cornerstone? If things go right with Murashov, he actually could be the sort of player. The only problem is projecting goalie development is a hopeless endeavor that will likely just end in frustration.

He is a wild card. He is an exciting wild card. He is a potentially franchise-changing wild card.

5. Rutger McGroarty

There were a lot of different people I considered in this spot.

Mike Sullivan? He is the head coach, and as long as he has that job he will play a big role in developing these young players. But even though there is little sign of him being fired anytime soon, I still think there is a good chance somebody else takes over that role in the not-too-distant future. Maybe the Penguins fire him. Maybe he steps down to take another job or just to take a break.

I thought about putting Rickard Rakell in this spot just because he is the best trade chip Dubas has, and is also still a really good player that could still have a long-term future here. But that seems like a reach.

Koivunen will play a big role in making or breaking the return for Jake Guentzel, but there are a lot of parts to that deal. He is an exciting prospect, and like I said above, I love his short-term and long-term potential. He is a very important player in this. He might be the No. 6 person on this list.

Just ahead of him, though, is McGroarty. Not only because he is the best prospect in the system at the moment, not only because he has big potential and upside as a top-six power forward, but also because of how he was acquired.

It was a one-for-one prospect swap involving Brayden Yager, the player that had previously been the Penguins top prospect and the first pick that Dubas made with the Penguins.

As long as those two are playing professional hockey there is going to be a desire to compare their progress and development.

This season, Yager had another strong year in the WHL, but given his age and the level of competition that should have been an expectation. His numbers also regressed somewhat from a year ago.

McGroarty spent the year making the jump from the NCAA to pro hockey, and steadily improved all year. He got off to a slow start in terms of results, but they eventually started to get there. It will be exciting to see what he can do over a full season next to Crosby.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/14...ant-people-to-the-pittsburgh-penguins-rebuild

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Pens Points: Final Days

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

Pens Points is here with all the latest from a Penguins day off as we enter the final days of the regular season.

Thursday will bring to an end the 2024-25 Pittsburgh Penguins season along with the NHL season as whole. There are still two more days off for the Penguins before we arrive at Game No. 82, but all that’s left for the Penguins in finalizing their position in the standings and learning what lottery odds await them for the NHL Draft.

Pens Points...​

Tristan Jarry has played better since being called back up to the NHL after being previously placed on waivers. While his improved play has been a welcome sight, his future in Pittsburgh remains very much in limbo. [Pensburgh]

There are many factors at play that will determine if the Penguins call pull off a successful rebuild. Kyle Dubas has already signaled he’s ready to get the process started, which is meaningful, considering he’s the most important piece of the puzzle. [Pensburgh]

With the rebuild now in full swing, it’s going to be a busy offseason for the Penguins. Trades will be made, players will be drafted, and contracts will be signed. All in all, Dubas is ready to get the ball rolling on his master plan for the Penguins. [The Athletic $$]

Surrounded by promising counterparts who are gunning to be the future of the Penguins in goal, veteran Filip Larsson has made an impression of his own this season in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. [Trib Live]

Joona Kopanen was waived by the Penguins on Monday, and will return to the AHL should he clear waivers on Tuesday. Kopanen has played 10 games with the Penguins this season, scoring his first career NHL goal in the process. [Daily Faceoff]

NHL News and Notes...​

For the first time ever, all four U.S.-based Original Six franchises (Bruins, Rangers, Red Wings, Blackhawks) will miss the playoffs. At the same time, their Canadian counterparts in Toronto and Montreal will be battling for the Stanley Cup. [Sportsnet]

Pressure it always high come playoff time, but for some teams the pressure is amplified by past failures. Everyone already expects teams like Toronto and Edmonton to be under the microscope, but they are hardly the only ones. [TSN]

After helping backstop Penn State to its first ever Frozen Four appearance last week, goaltender Arsenii Sergeev signed a two-year entry level contract with the Calgary Flames, the team who drafted him in the seventh round in 2021. [Calgary Flames]

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/15...v-nhl-draft-stanley-cup-playoffs-original-six

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Wilkes Weekly: AHL Penguins enter last week of regular season

@wbspenguins

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins gear up for the AHL playoffs

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins completed a stretch of three games in as many days over the weekend and the results were pretty decent. WBS went 2-1, dropping the first game to first-place Hershey but then coming back to pick up wins over Springfield and Bridgeport to salvage the weekend. Wilkes was beating Hershey 2-0 entering the third before giving up four straight goals to make for a regrettable finish.

Some good news was provided with Joel Blomqvist coming back from injury and playing well in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Springfield.

The team the Pens are chasing, the Charlotte Checkers, mustered a 1-1-0 weekend themselves. That allowed WBS to pull within two points of Charlotte for the all-important second place finish in the division that earns a bye in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Time is getting short, there are only three games to go for each team. The Pens are also tied with Providence, though the P-Bruins have played one additional game at this point.

For schedule watching purposes, below are the remaining games for each team in contention. All games will be completed by this upcoming Saturday (April 19th), with Wilkes playing a slate of games tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.

Charlotte: @Hartford, @Springfield, @Springfield
WB/S: Providence, @Hershey, Cleveland
Providence: @Wilkes, Bridgeport

On paper it’s a tough schedule for the Pens, probably the most difficult of the three. Providence will be a strong opponent, WBS is 0-3-0 against them so far this season. The Hershey Bears are one of the best team’s in the AHL and have had the Pens’ number as of late as well. Cleveland is a playoff team in the North Division. Not easy, but on the bright side at least two of the games are at home.

All of Charlotte’s games are on the road but the quality of competition is not that high. Then again, the Checkers also boast a very impressive 20-9-4 away record this season so playing road games haven’t been a big issue for them. Hartford has been eliminated from playoff contention (though at 5-3-2 in their last 10, they haven’t rolled over as an easy win for opponents). Springfield has qualified for the playoffs but is going to be a lower seed in the division. It’s not an extremely easy path for Charlotte, but at the same time it’s not incredibly daunting either.

Providence needs a lot of help from Charlotte and Wilkes losing to make it to the No. 2 seed. Luckily for the Bruins, the game against Bridgeport (on a 5-game losing streak and with a lowly 15-48-7 record this season) is as close to an automatic win as it gets being as the Islanders are the worst team in the AHL and limping to the finish line.

The Pens/Bruins game tomorrow is an absolute must-win for Providence for hopes to stay alive for the second seed. At the same time, the Penguins still need to make up ground on Charlotte making the game a virtual must-win situation for WBS as well. If WBS loses they wouldn’t be outright eliminated for second place, but the hill to climb would become much steeper. Something has to give there.

The first tiebreaker is regulation wins (RW) where Charlotte currently holds a 33-32 edge over WBS. The second tiebreaker moves to ROW, where Charlotte holds an insurmountable 39-37 lead. (In the rare chance Wilkes wins that tiebreaker, they would outright pass Charlotte on points to not need a tiebreaker). That sets WBS in an even deeper hole since a tie in points is likely to break in Charlotte’s favor barring a narrow path where WBS goes 2-1 this week with two RW’s and Charlotte goes 1-2 with no regulation win.

For now, the best Wilkes can do is attempt to get as close as possible to their maximum remaining possibility of 92 points and hope that Charlotte picks up three or fewer points in their remaining three games (or four points with no regulation wins along the way). It’s conceivable but becoming a difficult outlook on WBS’s quest for the second seed.

In the event the Penguins aren’t able to pass Charlotte this week, the Pens would be looking at a best-of-three opening round playoff series against either Lehigh Valley or Springfield, depending on how all parties end up at the regular season finish line since the matchups go 3/6 and 4/5 in the division. WBS would have home ice advantage.

—

Roster changes, injuries and hints of goalie usage?​

As is always the case in the minor league world, the rosters have been fluid with several players going up to the NHL Pittsburgh, and several other players making the shuttle back and forth from ECHL Wheeling.

Sergei Murashov was moved to the ECHL roster on Monday. The AHL playoffs won’t start until/around April 23rd, Wheeling’s first round series kicks off tomorrow with Game 1 against Norfolk in a best-of-5. Game 2 on Thursday, the series continues up through April 26th. There’s been no direct indications of plans in net for the AHL or ECHL but that move seemingly sets the stage for Murashov to be the playoff goalie for Wheeling, leaving either Filip Larsson or Joel Blomqvist to be the focus in net for Wilkes.

Defenseman Filip Kral got his first call-up of the season to the NHL at the last possible time. Kral will help the NHL Pens get through their last game and then be back for Wilkes.

Injuries have struck, Matt Nieto was declared out for the NHL season and it remains unknown if he will be returning to the AHL to help WBS’s efforts in the playoffs. Even worse, Rutger McGroarty’s broken foot has his immediate future in doubts. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said the team was “hopeful that Wilkes-Barre will play long enough” for McGroarty to get healthy again, but it didn’t sound promising that the rookie will be back any time soon. He very well could have played his last game of the season already unless Wilkes goes on a long run.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/15...hl-penguins-enter-last-week-of-regular-season

 

[Pittsburgh Penguins]

Kris Letang has successful heart surgery

Photo by Rich Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

Team lists expected recovery time at 4-6 weeks

Kris Letang was absent from practice yesterday and the issue was much bigger than that. The Penguins announced their defensemen “had successful closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO; small hole in the heart). The procedure was performed at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital by interventional cardiologist Dr. Conrad Smith.”

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang underwent successful surgery to close a patent foramen ovale (PFO, a small hole in the heart).

The expected recovery time is four to six weeks.https://t.co/OBIHf6RlSs

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 16, 2025​

The team listed recovery time at 4-6 weeks, which seems like an awfully short amount of time as far as having heart surgery goes.

Letang’s health situation has been dicey, the soon-to-be 38-year old has suffered two strokes in his career. The first stroke occurred in 2014 and the second in November 2022. The strokes have been related to an issue with Letang’s heart where a small opening in the upper chambers of his heart allowed a blood clot to go to his brain in one instance.

Letang showed determination and resilience to come back from his second stroke and play a game only 12 days later less than three years ago. He would be awarded the NHL’s Masterton Trophy in 2023 as a result for “being the NHL player who best exemplified the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey this season”.

Letang has three years remaining on his contract, but at this point playing in the NHL again takes a back seat of concern for the human being and family man that is dealing with all of this. The Penguins’ season ends tomorrow night anyways and getting back to health will be the main concern.

Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/2025/4/16...-successful-heart-surgery-stroke-penguins-nhl