Latest news with #ex-Penguin
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Penguins V. Lightning Preview: Crosby On Verge Of NHL History
Jan 12, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) handles the puck against Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images) After blowing a two-goal lead to the Florida Panthers en route to a 4-3 shootout loss Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to rebound against the other team residing in the sunshine state. On Tuesday, the Penguins will take on ex-Penguin Jake Guentzel and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who took the first two games of their season series. And Pittsburgh's captain has a chance to make NHL history. Advertisement Captain Sidney Crosby is just two points shy of Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record, which is currently set at 19. Clinching the record at 20 seems perfect for Crosby, who is, arguably, the most consistently dominant player in NHL history. "It's so impressive to be doing it for, what, 20 times?" forward Rickard Rakell said. "He's one of the best to have ever played this game, so... he shows why. I mean, it's such a hard game, and for him to do it every year, it's pretty nuts." Mar 13, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) and center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrate a goal by Rakell against the St. Louis Blues during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. (Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images) While Crosby chases the NHL record books, the Penguins will be chasing two points, as they are now in desperation mode in terms of the NHL playoff picture. They currently sit six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and Montreal has three games in hand. Advertisement They are aware of the hill that they would need to climb, as they only have 10 games remaining. But they're going to fight for every inch of ice they can get. And that's always tough against a goaltender like Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been one of the best goaltenders in hockey for the last decade. "He's been, obviously, one of the elite goaltenders in the league ever since [2016]," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's one of the premiere goaltenders in the league. The workload that he's been able to endure season-in and season-out... these guys have played a lot of hockey. They've gone deep into the playoffs, they've had a number of playoff runs, and he's played hard hockey. In a lot of ways, there aren't a lot of goaltenders that carry the workload he carries in today's game." Mar 20, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) waits for play to resume against the Dallas Stars during the second period at the American Airlines Center. (Jerome Miron-Imagn Images) Vasilevskiy will be opposed by Tristan Jarry, who is red-hot for the Penguins. Jarry has a .924 save percentage in his six starts since returning to the Penguins from the AHL on Mar. 3, and - including Tuesday's game - will have started seven of the last eight for Pittsburgh. Advertisement As for the lineup, forward Evgeni Malkin will miss Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury. Forward Emil Bemstrom will slot back in. Here are the lines and pairings for the game, which features Erik Karlsson on the left side next to Conor Timmins on the second defensive pairing: Tampa Bay currently occupies the third spot in the Atlantic Division. They have lost two consecutive games and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has two goals and six points in the last five games. Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Despite Solid Effort, Penguins Fall 4-3 To Panthers In Shootout
Jan 3, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (24) skates the puck against Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe (23) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) For the third time this season, a matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers went beyond regulation. And for the second time, things didn't go their way. On Sunday, the Penguins surrendered a two-goal lead and lost to the Panthers, 4-3, in a shootout for the second time this season. Pittsburgh couldn't muster a shootout goal, while Aleksander Barkov scored on the very first attempt for Florida to earn the win. Advertisement The Penguins are now 1-6 in the shootout this season in comparison to their 8-5 record in overtime. They have converted on just 28 percent of total shootout opportunities this season, which ranks 22nd in the league. "I've tried it a million ways to try to get better at it, with just different teams that I've coached throughout the years," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "My experience has been [that] you've got guys that tend to be inclined, or you don't." Even though the Penguins did ultimately surrender the two-goal lead, the game was back-and-forth for much of the evening. Sam Reinhart opened the scoring for Florida midway through the first period with his 34th of the season. A few minutes later, Penguins forward Bryan Rust capitalized on a power play opportunity for his 24th goal of the season with a slick forehand-to-backhand move near the net front that fooled Florida defenseman Nate Schmidt. Advertisement Rust scored again five minutes later, when Sidney Crosby dished a beautiful elevated pass to him while breaking to the net. Rust was able to catch the puck with one hand on his stick to redirect it into the net and behind Sergei Bobrovsky to put the Penguins up, 2-1. Crosby's assist on the goal - his second of the game - put him just two points shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record, which he would clinch at 20. And continuing into the next frame, the Penguins kept their foot on the gas. Pittsburgh got another power play six and a half minutes into the second, when ex-Penguin Evan Rodrigues went to the box for hooking. Twenty seconds later, Evgeni Malkin blasted home a one-timer from the right circle for his 15th goal of the season, giving his team the 3-1 lead. Mar 4, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) passes the puck against Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bryan Rust (17) during the second period at FLA Live Arena. (Rich Storry-Imagn Images) Reinhart added his second tally of the game on the power play not even three minutes later, however, and things started to slide a bit from there. Although the Penguins had their chances later in the game, the Panthers did take over for large stretches in the third period, and they finally broke through with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, as Anton Lundell scored to even the score at 3-3 and force overtime. Advertisement And after an exciting overtime period with chances exchanged - and the Penguins controlling most of the possession, as has largely been the case in overtime for them this season - the shootout was forced, and Florida took it from there. Despite the loss, Rust admires the Penguins' fighting spirit despite the circumstances surrounding the state of their season. "I think it shows about the character and leadership of this room is that we're in here to keep fighting hard and still play really hard," Rust said. "It doesn't really matter where we are, we're in here to still prove something and still be a good hockey team." Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
