Blogs

Some (late) quick hits from the Penguins’ practice Monday at Southpointe Iceoplex: = Opening puck drop: Due apologies for the late file. Spent most of today chasing down some regional information regarding the hot-topic NHL realignment, a subject on which I’m writing from the Commonwealth’s perspective in Tuesday’s Trib. By now, no doubt, dear readers [...]

Some observations after the Penguins’ 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders at Consol Energy Center: = C Evgeni Malkin, whose shootout goal lifted his club to a fifth straight victory, told me after this win that he is a fan of the “Malkamania” video that appeared after G Marc-Andre Fleury closed the shootout [...]

Quick thoughts after the Penguins’ 4-1 victory over The Devil at Consol Energy Center: = So, yeah, I’m a Staalpologist, but I’m guessing a game like the one C Jordan Staal had against the Devils doesn’t make me the only one. Dating to his return last season Staal has scored 16 goals and recorded 38 [...]

Some quick hits after the Penguins’ 3-1 victory over Montreal at Consol Energy Center on Thursday night: = RW James Neal’s response to my telling him that I predicted him to score 17 goals this season: “That’s brutal. I’ve never scored less than 20.” I attempted to fall on the sword, admit the error of [...]

A quick update, dear readers, as the Penguins get set to play in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for the first time since 1996: = First, I’m not there. Neither is my trusted partner-in-crime Josh Yohe. Turns out that Trib sports columnist Dejan Kovacevic is a huge fan of Winnipeg and requested this trip. I suggest asking him [...]

Some quick post-game observations after the Penguins’ first regulation loss on this NHL season, 3-2, to the Buffalo Sabres at Consol Energy Center:   = The Penguins didn’t win a game all last season during which they trailed entering the final period (0-19-1) and they are off to a similar start. Of course, this was [...]

Sorry, dear readers, but there isn’t a lot to report from the Penguins’ practice Wednesday at Consol Energy Center. The Penguins, who are in the midst of a brutal schedule stretch (eight games over the opening 13 games of the season), moved today’s practice to noon and made it an optional affair. Coach Dan Bylsma [...]

Some quick hits after covering my first game of the Penguins season, their 4-2 victory over Florida at Consol Energy Center: = D Kris Letang is off to a wonderful start (6 points in 4 games), but as coach Dan Bylsma noted after this win, keeping a watch on his minutes – and those of [...]

A quick off-day post for the dear readers: = Fans can, unfortunately, expect a lot of rumors about C Sidney Crosby over the next few hours/days/weeks. (Actually, the rumors have already started.) Believe what you want, but here are the only confirmable facts:  ♦ Crosby hasn’t missed a scheduled practice session dating to the start [...]

With the NHL regular season about to begin, the time is right for predictions that probably won’t be. As dear readers know, every year at this time I post goal projections for Penguins players. Aside from twice nail RW Pascal Dupuis’ total on the mark, I’m almost always way off, as I suspect will be [...]