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Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Three Takeaways From Blues' 5-4 Overtime Win Against Penguins
ST. LOUIS – The old adage that good teams find ways to win when they're not at their best has found its way to the St. Louis Blues once again. And in doing do on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the same team that was last in the NHL to put together a three-game winning streak has now matched a franchise record 11 straight wins. The Blues were not at their best, but they found a way for a second straight overtime game when Robert Thomas' power-play goal at 2:12 won it, 5-4, after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period at Enterprise Center. Jake Neighbours scored twice to surpass the 20-goal mark for the second straight season, and Thomas and Jordan Kyrou each had a goal and an assist for the Blues (42-28-7), who moved two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild for the first wild card in the Western Conference. They matched the Stanley Cup-winning team of 2018-19 for consecutive wins (Jan. 23-Feb. 19) and won their 10th in a row at home. 'It's been a fun ride,' Thomas said. 'We've beaten some really good teams and we're playing really good hockey. We just got to consistently be there every single night and that's what makes a great team and that's what we're on our way to be.' Added forward Oskar Sundqvist, who was part of the 2019 team, 'It's awesome. I was here for the last 11 straight wins. It's a good feeling in our group right now. Even if we haven't played our best games our last two games, but we're finding ways to win. That's what's important right now.' Jimmy Snuggerud had an assist for his first NHL point in his second game, and Joel Hofer won his fifth straight start with 24 saves. 'Another one of those games where we didn't think we played to our standard, but finding ways, goalies are playing well, guys are making big plays in big moments and keep finding ways,' Neighbours said. Here are Thursday's Three Takeaways -- * The power play finally connected – Even with the Blues scoring four times at 5-on-5, it was a game in which they could have put it away with better special teams. Earlier in the game, they had a 38-second two-man advantage lumped in with a four-minute double minor for high-sticking and did nothing with it. The Blues led the game 3-2 and had the chance to put the game away then but their unwillingness to be more direct allowed the Penguins to stay in the game despite Neighbours scoring at 5:56 on a great play by Snuggerud both defensively, then starting the transition offensively to make it 4-2. St. Louis goal!Scored by Jake Neighbours with 14:04 remaining in the 3rd by Jimmy Snuggerud and Oskar Louis: 4Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025 But on the 4-on-3 in overtime, after Penguins defenseman Kris Letang was called for slashing Kyrou, the Blues had to be more direct, they had to take advantage of the open ice. It wasn't clean, but Thomas and Kyrou worked the puck off the left side and after corralling the puck, Thomas wired a wrister high glove on Tristan Jarry to end it. Power play goal for St. Louis!Scored by Robert Thomas with 02:48 remaining in the OT by Jordan Louis: 5Pittsburgh: 4#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025 'They pressured hard and we weren't able to beat it early,' Thomas said. 'I missed a couple good looks. We did have some good looks. I think just more consistent on the 5-on-3 and the couple minutes, I think we had six minutes of power play 5-on-4. Got to find a way to do a better job early in the game, but it came through in the end.' * Staying with it despite frittering away third-period lead – The first period was as poor as the Blues have played in quite some time, and coach Jim Montgomery attributed it to 'energy.' The Blues just weren't connected on the ice, their puck play was passive, zone exits weren't clean, and the Penguins (30-34-12) had something to do with it, but they finally turned the game around in the second period. 'We just don't seem to have juice, and it's going to happen, but it's a sign of a good team when you don't have our legs and we're still pulling out wins,' Montgomery said. 'This is a hard league to win in, as we found out earlier in the year. 'I thought we were significantly better (in the second period), I thought we skated, I thought we worked better and I thought it led to a lot of opportunities.' Neighbours tied the game 1-1 on a beautiful sequence with Philip Broberg, Pavel Buchnevich and Thomas, who fed Neighbours on the last pass 39 seconds in. St. Louis goal!Scored by Jake Neighbours with 19:21 remaining in the 2nd by Robert Thomas and Philip Louis: 1Pittsburgh: 1#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025 After Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead during a sequence that Thomas took a stick to the face on a follow-through shot by Rickard Rakell, Buchnevich tied the game 2-2 after Nathan Walker broke up a play in the neutral zone, and Buchnevich used his stick magic to lift a backhand in at 6:48 before Kyrou whipped a wrister past Jarry for their first lead at 3-2 at 8:05 on an incredibly strong flipper out of the zone in stride by Cam Fowler. St. Louis goal!Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 13:12 remaining in the 2nd by Nathan Louis: 2Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025 St. Louis goal!Scored by Jordan Kyrou with 11:55 remaining in the 2nd by Cam Louis: 3Pittsburgh: 2#PITvsSTL #stlblues #LetsGoPens — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 4, 2025 'Got the perfect spin on it, English on it too, right,' Montgomery said. 'So he could skate right into it. It was nice.' But after the Neighbours goal, the Blues, who were 0-for-4 on the power play at the time, were not going to get any more man advantages unless it was something egregious, and the Penguins had yet to have a power play. But when a failed clearance of a puck seconds later resulted in Justin Faulk taking a holding minor, the Penguins didn't waste much time all of the sudden making a game of it when it didn't have to be a game when Rakell scored from the high slot at 11:15 of the third period, using all of 30 seconds to score on their lone power play to make it 4-3. The Blues didn't do a good job of closing the game out the rest of the way either, and when Pittsburgh pulled Jarry, eventually it was Rutger McGroarty scoring his first NHL goal at 19:35 to tie the game 4-4. 'We have won all different kinds of games, but I am not happy that we were up 4-2 in the third and we went to overtime,' Montgomery said. 'We have to close out games. We have to get better. 'Attention to detail, knowing your responsibilities. There's a couple mistakes there in that (tying goal). It's a wraparound goal, they make a power move, but we shouldn't be that far from the net.' * Holloway goes down, now what – When Blues forward Dylan Holloway left the game late in the first period with a lower-body injury, as a result of a McGroarty check in the Blues' offensive zone along the wall at 17:09 and Holloway trying one more shift roughly a minute later, it would remove a 26-goal scorer and 63-point player from the Blues' lineup. Now what? Who can jump into the top six and play with Kyrou and Brayden Schenn, or whoever it may be? Well, Zack Bolduc comes to mind. Snuggerud, who made a strong defensive stick play that ultimately led to a beautiful pass to Neighbours for the Blues' fourth goal, would get more ice time and more responsibilities. Game management was important at that time, and those that handled the extra ice time handled the minutes effectively. 'It's kind of just a little scrambly on the bench,' Neighbours said. 'We're trying to mix and match lines, get guys out there. Obviously that's an elite player for us, someone who plays in all situations and a really important piece for our team. But we had to focus on the task at hand. We weren't playing great and obviously it sucked losing Dylan. Just hope he's OK and we get him back.' Snuggerud finished with 16:22 of ice time, significantly more than the 10:43 he played on Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings. 'Really impressive. He's been making a lot of plays,' Montgomery said of Snuggerud. 'I think once he gets used to the speed, strength and less time and space in the NHL, he's going to be a real good player for us. He's already playing well. 'It gets a little difficult. It can, but we have a lot of players than can play all three forward positions. And I found out that Snuggerud can play left wing. It just worked out that I could manage the bench quite easily with the depth of the talented players that we have. 'I haven't seen any egregious mistakes, and in the D-zone, surprisingly, because he's never played our D-zone before, he's executing really well. He cut the top off the one time, sprinted out, made sure they stayed on the same side of the ice and Sunny was able to get out and kill it. It's a sign of a really smart player because our D-zone's very different than man-on-man.'
New York Times
28-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Penguins' Sidney Crosby breaks Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with 20th point-per-game season
BUFFALO, N.Y — Sidney Crosby made history on Thursday in Buffalo. The captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored a goal at the 11:11 mark of the first period, which was good for his 80th point of the season. Crosby, who can only play a maximum of 80 regular-season games because he missed two in February, clinched a point-per-game season for the 20th time in his storied 20-year career. Sidney Crosby's goal makes him the first player in NHL history to have 20 seasons of point-per-game hockey!#LetsGoPens — Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 27, 2025 This breaks a tie with Wayne Gretzky, giving Crosby the record for most consecutive point-per-game seasons in NHL history. 'I mean, no one is even nervous about it or anything because it's not like he isn't going to do it,' said Rickard Rakell, Crosby's left wing for the majority of the season. Where Crosby will rank on the list of greatest NHL players will always be a subjective exercise, of course. There's no question, however, that he will go down as one of the most consistent great players in NHL history. Advertisement Even at 37, he remains among the league leaders and points and there was never any question that he was going to set this mark, even though the Penguins have hovered around the bottom of the NHL standings all season. Crosby, legendary for his superstitions, has been hesitant to address the record in recent days. Earlier this week in Tampa, a reporter asked Rakell about it. Crosby playfully said to Rakell, 'There's no need to answer that question, Raks.' But it can now be discussed. Crosby now has 1,676 points in his NHL career, leaving him 324 from 2000. He is under contract for two more seasons, through the 2026-27 campaign. Crosby will be only a few months away from his 40th birthday when his contract expires, though the possibility certainly remains that he will play behind that season. 'His consistency is just incredible,' said Kris Letang, who has played with Crosby in 19 of those 20 seasons. 'He just keeps going and going. And the way he keeps himself in shape, I don't think he's going to slow down anytime soon.' Crosby now has 17 points in his last 12 games and has more points than any NHL player since the 4 Nations Face-Off break in February.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Crosby, Rakell Continue Dominance As Top Duo
After the 2024 NHL trade deadline, Pittsburgh Penguins POHO and GM Kyle Dubas traded captain Sidney Crosby's best winger in Jake Guentzel. It seemed to be the first domino to fall in an effort to sell off the team's marketable, talented assets to begin pushing toward the future. Luckily for Crosby - and the Penguins - there wasn't a repeat of the same thing at the 2025 trade deadline. Crosby's "new" best winger this season is Rickard Rakell, who is in the midst of a career year having played with the captain for most of it. Rakell has 31 goals and 59 points in 68 games on the season, and that's second on the team only to his linemate and one of hockey's best and most consistent players. And having the consistency together as linemates this season - the two spent only a few weeks on separate lines at the very beginning of the season - has helped both of them find even more chemistry than they've had in previous campaigns, when they played together on an irrregular basis. "I think any time you're together with linemates for an extended period of time, usually, it's a good thing," Crosby said. "That's always a good sign. Just trying to read off of one another, you know, you're talking about certain plays, and then, obviously, the power play, we're together there... so, that can carry over to five-on-five sometimes, too. "It definitely helps, and you want to get better as the season goes on. You play different teams, and you want to find a way to be productive.' Rickard Rakell buries the dish from Sidney Crosby, giving Crosby his 50th assist of the season!#LetsGoPens — Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 15, 2025 And Rakell, too, knows that when his name is on the lineup card next to Crosby and Bryan Rust, he can expect to get some good scoring chances throughout the course of a game. 'I think it helps to be playing with each other for a long time," Rakell said. "And, for me, just playing with Sid and Rusty... I know I'm going to get a few good looks every game, so I just try to stay ready for it.' And he has, in fact, been ready for it. The duo has combined for 54 goals and 132 points on the season - including 12 goals and 26 points in the 12 games since the 4 Nations Face-off break - and they don't appear to be slowing down. They've also contributed an expected goals for share of 54.63 percent together, which is the best expected goals share for any regular forward duo on the Penguins' roster. This Dynamic Duo has combined for 130 points so far this season... 🐧How many points will they collectively finish with? 💬NHL x @massmutual — NHL (@NHL) March 14, 2025 When the duo plays away from each other? Rakell has an expected goals share of just 44.61 percent, while Crosby has a mark of 46.37 percent. A few times in the past, head coach Mike Sullivan has referenced Rakell's ability to "make something out of nothing." One of the things - aside from his lethal shot - that makes Rakell a dangerous player is his ability to expose the soft areas of the ice. Crosby agrees. 'I think just being aware and finding that open ice," Crosby said. "He's got a great shot, really good hands... so he's able to maneuver the puck pretty well in small space and doesn't need a lot of time to get a shot off. He's proven that a lot this year.' As for what makes Crosby so dangerous? Well, it's more than documented at this point how high-IQ and lethal a playmaker Crosby is. But, for Rakell, Crosby's consistency and ability to sustain such a high level of play in a general sense is remarkable. The Penguins' captain is just seven points shy of setting the NHL's all-time point-per-game seasons record at 20, which would break Wayne Gretzky's previous mark of 19. 'I mean, it's so impressive to be doing it for, what is it, 20 times?" Rakell said. "He's one of the best to ever play this game. He shows why. It's such a hard game, and for him to do it every year, it's pretty nuts.' Crosby and Rakell's chemistry this season is pretty nuts, too. And thanks to Dubas's decision to keep the duo intact - at least for the rest of the season, and, perhaps, beyond - it will only have the potential to reach even higher heights. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Penguins Erupt For Seven Goals, Earn Fourth Straight Win
The Pittsburgh Penguins just keep on rolling during the stretch run of the season. Even though goaltending has mostly been carrying them, their offense found a way to be the story on Saturday afternoon. The Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils, 7-3, to earn their fourth straight win. And they got contributions from up and down their lineup - including from their newcomers. Forward Connor Dewar registered two goals, and defenseman Conor Timmins notched two assists. Both were acquired on Mar. 7 from the Toronto Maple Leafs. DEWEY GETS THE HELMET! — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025 Regardless of who is doing it and how they are doing it, the Penguins are winning games against some pretty good teams. And it's something they should feel pretty good about. "It's just one game at a time," said goaltender Tristan Jarry, who put up his fourth straight win. "We can't get too far ahead ourselves. We just have to keep focus on the task at hand, but I think we've done a really good job just getting points and climbing. We just have to keep that mindset and keep going with it." New Jersey opened the scoring midway through the first period, when former Penguin Cody Glass put one home from the right circle for his fourth point in four games since being traded from Pittsburgh to the Devils. Dewar responded near the end of the third with a "garbage goal," and - 25 seconds later - Danton Heinen capitalized on a two-on-one chance with a beautiful forehand-to-backhand move, which came after a sneaky feed from Philip Tomasino. Pittsburgh goal!Scored by Danton Heinen with 02:24 remaining in the 1st by Philip Tomasino and Vladislav 2New Jersey: 1#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 15, 2025 The Penguins held the 2-1 lead into the second period, and they added on within the first five minutes of the middle frame. Rickard Rakell came in hard on the forecheck and managed to squeeze the puck from below the goal line out to Matt Grzelcyk. Grzelcyk fed it to Timmins, who fed it to Sidney Crosby, who found Rakell in just the right spot in the slot to register his 31st goal of the season. The dynamic duo is at it again! 👏 — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025 After a disallowed shorthanded goal by the Devils during a four-minute kill in the second period, Tomasino worked hard to earn a goal of his own in the opening minutes of the third period, as he forced a turnover in front of Devils goaltender Jakob Markstrom and finished his own play to make it 4-1. But, then, things got a bit dicey. Pittsburgh took two consecutive double-minor penalties for high-sticking - the first by Noel Acciari, and the second by Evgeni Malkin - and New Jersey capitalized on both four-minute power play opportunities. Timo Meier got the first, and Nico Hischier got the second to make the score 4-3. However, the Penguins responded with a power play goal of their own. Defenseman Erik Karlsson found the twine with an absolute rocket from the point to give the Penguins back a two-goal lead. Filthy toe drag release by EK65 😮💨 — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 15, 2025 And from there, they pretty much shut it down. Dewar scored his second goal of the game on the empty net with 55 seconds left in regulation, and Kevin Hayes added an even-strength goal with 22 seconds left on the clock to score the "chili goal" and give the Penguins a 7-3 victory. This was Pittsburgh's first win against the Devils this season and just their second win in the last 11 games against them. "I give the players a lot of credit," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think 'Jars' played terrific. He was outstanding again tonight, and our power play gets us a huge goal late in the game to give us a little bit of a cushion. "Guys are just competing. We're playing hard, I'm happy for the players. We've been able to string a couple in a row here together, and we're just going to take that game right in front of us and see where it takes us." Here are just a few thoughts and observations from Saturday's win: - Let's get the negative out of the way first. The Penguins' penalty kill is outright awful right now. The unit surrendered another two power play goals against the Devils, which were both on third-period high-sticking double-minors. A unit that was top-12 for much of the season has free-fallen in the league standings. The Penguins are now 19th in penalty kill percentage at 77.2 percent, and they have surrendered eight power play goals in their eight games in March - including four in the last two games. "It's not always the cleanest game from an execution standpoint," Sullivan said. "I think we've got to do a better job staying out of the penalty box, and in some of those situations, there were a few penalties that I thought could've been avoided that would put us in a better position." Simply put, the Penguins need to be more disciplined. Their PK unit isn't really doing much killing right now, so they're best-served to avoid it entirely for the time being. - Speaking of which, there were three different double-minors for high-sticking in this game - two by the Penguins and one by the Devils. Not something you see very often. - The new guys are really playing well for the Penguins and have played pretty big roles, respectively, in their four-game win streak. Dewar - who didn't have a goal on the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming a Penguin - has three goals in four games with Pittsburgh and is helping Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari drive offense on the third line. Timmins had two points tonight and has been a steady presence on the blue line for Pittsburgh's bottom pairing. DEWEY 👏 — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025 "It's been great to come in and contribute right away," Dewar said. "It makes you feel a lot more comfortable, and it's nice helping out in getting these wins here." Five games since the trade deadline, four wins. And the only loss was the first one on deadline day against the Vegas Golden Knights - which Dewar and Timmins were not available for. - I've mentioned that Vladislav Kolyachonok's offensive instincts continually impress me. He did earn his first point as a Penguin on Heinen's goal. Another player who has been very good in this last handful of games? Tomasino. He has been impressive, really, since being slotted back on Evgeni Malkin's right side. The production won't pop out at you - he has three goals and seven points in his last 12 games - but he is driving offense on that line. Phil-ing good 😊 — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025 "He's a really talented player," Sullivan said. "He has real good offensive instincts. He has the ability to finish, he's got a deceptive shot, and I think he's a dangerous player off the rush. I think an example of that is the two-on-one goal he scored tonight." He continued: "The area we're trying to help him grow is to develop a grind game. If you don't have the opportunity to generate offense off the rush, you have to find different ways to generate offense. Usually, when you play the better teams in the league, they take the rush game away." Tomasino has earned the opportunity to stay on the second line for the remainder of the season, even if he still has to iron out some of the details of his "grind" game. - The Penguins kept showing this young Penguins fan on the jumbotron. The first time, he was dancing, and the crowd went wild. Then, they showed him after Tomasino's goal, which garnered a huge cheer. Then, they showed him again with a "Celebrity Alert" AI frame around his face. The crowd responded and went nuts yet again. This wasn't a huge crowd, but it was a good, loud one. Awesome stuff by the Penguins' video staff to make this kid a star. - After a New York Rangers win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the Penguins are still six points out of a playoff spot, and every team ahead of them has games in hand. At one point Saturday, they were just four points out. I can't believe I'm typing this and everyone has games in hand on them, but the Penguins are four points out of a playoff spot. — Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) March 15, 2025 Don't get your hopes up. But, obviously, if the Penguins keep winning games - their next of which comes Tuesday against the New York Islanders and then Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, both teams ahead of them in the standings - I suppose we'll have to keep monitoring the mathematics. Who would've thought, right? Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Young Penguins Defenseman Impressing Offensively In Elevated Role
Back on Feb. 9, the Pittsburgh Penguins took a chance on a young defenseman via a waiver claim. And, so far, it seems to be paying off. 23-year-old Vladislav Kolyachonok took a while to get acclimated to the Penguins after he was claimed by Pittsburgh from the Utah Hockey Club. In fact - due to the 4 Nations Face-off break and the lack of practice time following the break - he didn't even make it into the lineup until Mar. 4 in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He made exactly three starts on the bottom pairing before impressing enough to earn top-pairing minutes with Kris Letang. And he hasn't disappointed in his two-plus games, as the Penguins are 2-0 so far in those contests. Here's a look at the lines today against the Devils. — Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2025 "I feel good playing with him," Kolyachonok said. "He's a great teammate. He helps me learn, and he's a great leader and a great person. I think we're getting on the same page. And it's good to get the results." It's not as if Kolychonok - drafted in the second round (52nd overall) by the Florida Panthers in 2019 - has been productive up to this point, as he just registered his first point as a Penguin during Saturday's matchup against the New Jersey Devils. He is known as an offensive, puck-moving defenseman, and production will be expected at some point. Pittsburgh goal!Scored by Danton Heinen with 02:24 remaining in the 1st by Philip Tomasino and Vladislav 2New Jersey: 1#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils — NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 15, 2025 But the early returns are pretty good on the blueliner from Minsk, Belarus. Even if it's a small sample size, Kolyachonok has the highest expected goals share of any Penguins' player in the last five games at 54.09. He also has the second-highest high-danger chances for share of 50, which trails only forward Emil Bemstrom at 58.33. In other words, Kolyachonok is doing a fair amount to drive offense right now on the top pairing, and this is alongside a veteran who is known for his offensive instincts. And the crazy thing is that Letang has actually been playing more of a shutdown role on that pairing because of Kolyachonok's ability to aid the transition game, skate with the puck on his stick, and generate chances. They're driving offense and creating scoring chances. Kolyachonok has the highest 5v5 expected goals share of any Pens skater in the last six games at 54.09, and Tomasino is tied for second with Sidney Crosby in shots on goal at 15. — Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) March 15, 2025 "I think he's competing hard," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We're trying to get him to simplify his game and defend well. The one thing we really like about him is that he's a real good skater. He's strong on pucks, his gaps are really good, he can close on people laterally really well, and he's physical. He's not shy. He's willing to get into bodies." He does need to work on his risk assessment and some of the defensive details in his game, especially when the puck is on his stick in the defensive zone. But all in all, it's been an impressive first few games from the young left-side defenseman. "There's areas of his game, obviously, where we think he can improve and get better," Sullivan said. "Just his decisions on when he joins the rush, his decisions on when he activates off the offensive blue line... he's trying to simplify the game. We're encouraging him to simplify the game with respect to his puck possession game. "He's a young player, and we're excited about, potentially, where his game might go." Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
