The Pittsburgh Penguins played their worst game of the 2017 playoffs in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup. Although the Penguins won, they should feel as though they lost and then adjust accordingly. The good news is under coach Mike Sullivan, the Penguins have been the king of adjustments. Sullivan has pressed all the right buttons […]

It’s hard to find a sport on earth with more superstitions and folklore than hockey. Everything from the stars of the game to beards in the playoffs, the NHL is full of tradition. One of the biggest traditions in the sport is not touching the conference trophy. When the Nashville Predators won the Clarence Campbell Bowl, which […]

For the second straight year, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a goaltender controversy in the Eastern Conference Final. Coach Mike Sullivan pulled Marc-Andre Fleury in a 5-1 loss during Game 3. Fleury gave up four goals in the first 13 minutes Wednesday, which allowed Matt Murray to make his first appearance of the postseason. Pittsburgh relied […]

Despite that their bid to repeat is still alive, this postseason run has a different feel to it for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In many ways, the Penguins are in survivor mode rather than dominating as they did most of the last postseason. During the first two rounds, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals outshot […]

As sports fans, we love curses. There’s just something mystical about a team repeatedly unable to win a championship. As if there really are sports or hockey gods. There’s plenty of championship-starved franchises to go around in the NHL, but it’s hard not to identify the Washington Capitals as the team that’s been through the […]

The term “must-win” has become one of the most popular cliches in sports over the years. The literal meaning of the term can’t be applied to anything except an elimination game, but it’s often used in other situations too. In the minds of many fans, Game 6 for the Pittsburgh Penguins might as well be […]

Many analysts believed the Pittsburgh Penguins defied the odds last season on their way to the Stanley Cup. Even after proving themselves as the real deal by advancing three rounds into the Final, 17 out of 21 NHL.com analysts picked the San Jose Sharks to win the Cup. No one really believed they could win. […]

With 28 one-goal games and 17 overtime sessions, NHL fans may have just witnessed the most exciting first round in the history of the NHL. Other than a Game 7, the round offered everything from a dominating defending champion, a battle-tested top seed and a handful of shocking upsets. Despite the unpredictability of it all, […]

Just when it looked as though the Pittsburgh Penguins were officially through the injury bug, a slew of bad news has hit the team since the weekend. On Saturday, the Penguins ruled out left wing Chris Kunitz for Sunday’s contest versus the Carolina Hurricanes. At that time, his timetable to return was unknown; just a […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins broke their four-game winless streak Friday night against the New York Rangers. Fans liked a lot about the game–the Penguins’ energy level was much higher than the previous two games, two previously injured players returned and made major impacts, and goaltender Matt Murray resembled his 2016 playoff self. But, the victory didn’t come […]

On their way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins sizzled through March and April, winning 14 of their final 16 games. We are not yet to April, but this season, the Penguins appear to be limping to the finish line. For the most part, the Penguins have dealt with injury adversity extremely […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins clinched their 11th straight playoff berth last Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres. By the end of the season, unless Detroit pulls off some sort of miracle, it will become the longest current playoff streak in the league. But the Penguins haven’t won since Tuesday. On one hand, it’s not all that alarming […]

League MVP award winners tend to elevate their play when their teams need them the most. That’s exactly what captain Sidney Crosby is doing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has been good all season. With still 10 games remaining, he’s reached the 40-goal mark for just the second time in his illustrious career. He leads […]

Midway through February, it was an afterthought that the Washington Capitals would win the Metropolitan Division. On March 1, the hockey world anointed them the Eastern Conference champions when they traded for defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk. But in the span of one week, Washington has seen its seven-point lead in the division evaporate to one. In […]

Left wing Carl Hagelin was a model of consistency in his four seasons with the New York Rangers. But over the past two seasons, it’s been a roller coaster ride for the forward. At the beginning of 2015-16, he didn’t fit well with the Anaheim Ducks, posting just four goals and 12 points in 43 […]

Winnipeg Jets right wing Patrick Laine scored his 30th goal this week, and it only took him 55 games. Center Auston Matthews isn’t far behind him with 28 goals and 52 points. Laine and Matthews are the two obvious choices to win the Calder Trophy. Toronto’s Mitch Marner and Williams Nylander are strong candidates too. Those two players, […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins‘ Jim Rutherford won the General Manager of the Year Award last season due to the slew of smart trades he made on the fly. With the team’s bundle of injuries on defense right now, Pittsburgh may need Rutherford to pull another magician act in order to repeat. Olli Maatta broke his hand […]

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been able to keep pace with the Washington Capitals since the start of the new year. It’s become clear that if Pittsburgh hopes to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the Penguins are going to have to beat the Capitals without home-ice advantage. Part of the reason Pittsburgh hasn’t kept pace is […]

No one looked at the Pittsburgh Penguins acquisition of defenseman Justin Schultz as anything more than a flier. At the trade deadline last season, the Penguins acquired Schultz from Edmonton for a third-round draft choice. But, he proved to be a very nice fit and provided some nice blue-line depth for the eventual Stanley Cup […]