Chad Ruhwedel

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NHL injury roundup: Jets’ Lowry out 4 weeks; Schultz, Krejci near returns

By Adam GretzJan 20, 2020, 4:52 PM EST

Jets lose Adam Lowry for a minimum of four weeks

The Winnipeg Jets have won just six of their past 18 games and have been dominated in their most recent two, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks by a 12-3 margin. Not great. Also not great is the fact coach Paul Maurice announced on Monday that forward Adam Lowry is going to be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks due to an upper-body injury.

Lowry isn not a big driver of the team’s offense (only four goals and 10 total points in 47 games) but he is a good defensive forward and a big loss for a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth to begin with. As of Monday, the Jets are three points back of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

Justin Schultz game-time decision for Penguins; Dominik Kahun has concussion

The Penguins could be getting one of their top defenseman back on Tuesday when they play the Philadelphia Flyers. Justin Schultz, sidelined since Dec. 17, was a full participant in practice on Monday and is not ruling out playing on Tuesday. Schultz is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and would no doubt love to have a big second half to boost his value. In 27 games this season he has just two goals and eight total points for the Penguins. If he is able to return it is likely that either Chad Ruhwedel or Jusso Rikkola would sit.

In other Penguins injury news, coach Mike Sullivan announced on Monday that forward Dominik Kahun is going to be sidelined with a concussion that he suffered in Sunday’s come-from-behind win against the Boston Bruins. Kahun has been a great addition to the Penguins lineup this season bringing some much-needed youth, speed, and two-way play to their forward group. He has 10 goals and 27 total points in 48 games this season. Dominik Simon was also injured on Sunday, but was at practice on Monday and is considered a game-time decision for Tuesday.

Krejci back at practice for Bruins

After missing the past two games an upper-body injury, veteran forward David Krejci was back at Bruins practice on Monday in a non-contact jersey. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Krejci will “give it a go” in the morning skate on Tuesday before their game against Vegas, but there is no guarantee he can play.

Following Tuesday’s game the Bruins will have nine days off before their next game.

Starting goalie Tuukka Rask was also back on the ice on Monday and skated on his own before practice. He has been sidelined with a concussion after being hit in the head by Columbus’ Emil Benstrom. He is also not expected to play on Tuesday against the Golden Knights.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

WATCH LIVE: Penguins host Bruins on NBC

By Sean LeahyJan 19, 2020, 11:45 AM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Two of the NHL’s top teams meet for the second time in four days as the Bruins head to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Sunday’s matchup will be the third and final game between these two this season. Boston won the first two meetings

After losing in Boston Thursday, the Penguins had a chance to get right back to it with a game against the Red Wings Friday night. Pittsburgh started slow, trailing 1-0 to the league’s worst team through two periods. But early in the third Bryan Rust scored his 20th of the season on the power play to even the score. And in overtime it was the captain Sidney Crosby who netted the game-winner on the power play to help Pittsburgh escape with a win.

Since returning from his 28-game absence, Crosby has 6 points (3G-3A) and has scored a goal in each of his three games.

With All-Star goalie Tuukka Rask (concussion) on injured reserve, the Bruins are now relying on Jaroslav Halak as their primary goalie. After starting the season on a tear, Halak has not been as sharp over the past six weeks.Halak has started (and won) both games against the Penguins this season. Over his career, he is 11-8-2 in 21 starts against Pittsburgh, with a 2.53 GAA and .921 SV%.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC]

WHAT: Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 19, 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Bruins-Penguins stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

BRUINS
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk – Charlie Coyle – Anders Bjork
Danton Heinen – Par Lindholm – Karson Kuhlman
Joakim Nordstrom – Sean Kuraly – Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
John Moore – Matt Grzelcyk

Starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak

PENGUINS
Jared McCann – Sidney Crosby – Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk – Andrew Agozzino – Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brandon Tanev

Jack Johnson – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Jusso Riikola – Chad Ruhwedel

Starting goalie: Matt Murray

Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will have the call of the Bruins-Penguins matchup on NBC from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

WATCH LIVE: Wild visit Penguins on NBCSN

Getty Images

By Sean LeahyJan 14, 2020, 6:00 PM EST

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Tuesday’s matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The Penguins come into this game on a three-game win streak after sweeping a trio of games against three teams currently in playoff position in the Western Conference. Pittsburgh won by a 4-3 scoreline at Vegas, at Colorado (OT) and at Arizona (SO) during their road trip.

The Penguins have now won 14 of their last 18 games (14-3-1), all without Sidney Crosby. Despite their rash of injuries, Pittsburgh became the 4th team in the NHL to reach the 60-point plateau on Sunday (WSH, BOS, STL).

On the other end of the spectrum, the Wild come into this week on a three-game losing streak (0-2-1). Minnesota lost 4-1 vs Vancouver on Sunday after dropping both ends of a home- and-home series with the Flames earlier last week.

Minnesota has now lost five of their last six games (1-4-1). They haven’t dropped four straight since starting this season 0-4-0.

After games last Sunday (Jan. 5), before taking on the Flames at home, the Wild sat three points behind the Jets for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Now, after losing three straight over the past week-plus, Minnesota is seven points off the playoff pace with a brutal schedule ahead.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET ON NBCSN]

WHAT: Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Wild-Penguins stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

WILD
Jason Zucker – Eric Staal – Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Kevin Fiala
Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Luke Kunin
Jordan Greenway – Ryan Donato – Ryan Hartman

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Matt Dumba
Carson Soucy – Greg Pateryn

Starting goalie: Devan Dubnyk

PENGUINS
Jared McCann – Sidney Crosby – Domink Simon
Dominik Kahun – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk – Andrew Agozzino – Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brandon Tanev

Jack Johnson – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Juuso Riikola – Chad Ruhwedel

Starting goalie: Tristan Jarry

Tuesday night’s studio coverage will be hosted by Kathryn Tappen alongside Keith Jones and Anson Carter. John Forslund and AJ Mleczko will call the action from Pittsburgh.

It’s Pittsburgh Penguins Day at PHT

By Joey AlfieriAug 23, 2019, 9:02 AM EDT

Each day in the month of August we’ll be examining a different NHL team — from looking back at last season to discussing a player under pressure to identifying X-factors to asking questions about the future. Today we look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

2018-19
44-26-12, 100 points (3rd in the Metropolitan Division, sixth in the Eastern Conference)
Playoffs: Lost in four games to the New York Islanders in the first round.

IN:
Alex Galchenyuk
Dominik Kahun
Brandon Tanev
Pierre Olivier-Joseph

OUT:
Phil Kessel
Olli Maatta
Matt Cullen

RE-SIGNED:
Chad Ruhwedel
Zach Aston-Reese
Teddy Blueger

2018-19 Summary

Anytime you have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on your roster, expectations are going to be high for your hockey club. Unfortunately for the 2018-19 Penguins, they didn’t live up to the hype.

The Pens won two of the first five games of the regular season, but they seemingly got back on track by sweeping f four-game road trip that took them through Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. They followed that up by dropping their last game of October and the first four games of November. That’s pretty much how the season went for the Penguins. They appeared to be stuck in the mud during long stretches.

[MORE: Under Pressure | Three Questions | X-Factor]

Pittsburgh made the playoffs, but they were quickly swept by their division rivals, the New York Islanders, in the opening round. With that kind of ending to their season, we knew that changes would be coming. They never seemed to get the chemistry down. From new players to veterans, they never looked like the dominant Penguins we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

One of the players that didn’t look like himself was Malkin. Yes, he finished with 72 points, which most players would be thrilled with, but he wasn’t his usual dominant self. There were whispers about him potentially being moved, but that never materialized this summer.

“We just felt that as a group, we didn’t come together the way we should have or could have in order to maximize the potential of our group,” head coach Sullivan said, per NHL.com. “It’s not any one person or two people’s fault. It’s the responsibility of everybody involved to make sure that they’re making a positive contribution in that regard.

So they decided to make some significant moves this offseason. General manager Jim Rutherford traded Kessel to Arizona for Alex Galchenyuk and he also spent significant money and term to land free-agent Brandon Tanev, who adds size and strength to the group. Olli Maata was also traded away to Chicago for Dominik Kahun.

Getting Galchenyuk, Kahun and Tanev comfortable will be a priority, but those three players need to come in and be difference makers for a veteran team that needed some new blood.

Can the Penguins become the team to beat in the Metropolitan Division, again? On paper, it sure look like they can, but they have a lot to prove this season.

MORE:
• ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.

NHL on NBCSN: Blue Jackets, Penguins kick off critical home-and-home series

By Scott BilleckMar 7, 2019, 11:00 AM EST

1 Comment

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with the Thursday night’s matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Talk about a game with massive playoff implications.

The Metropolitan Division is so tight that the difference between third place (Carolina, 79 points) and not being in a playoff spot at all (Columbus, 77 points) is separated by two points.

It’s with this that we can understand the magnitude of Thursday’s game between the Penguins and the visiting Blue Jackets — the start of a pivotal home-and-home series between the two clubs.

The Blue Jackets are coming off a much-needed win on Tuesday after going 1-3-0 since the trade deadline when they sold the farm for Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and Adam McQuaid. But even the win wasn’t impressive, putting up a season-low 18 shots against a bad New Jersey Devils team that should have been a cakewalk.

“Guys are panicking for some reason. We have a lot of skill players, and guys are afraid to make five-foot passes, or tape-to-tape passes,” said forward Cam Atkinson. “Guys are running around, not in position and we’re just throwing the puck off the glass and not helping our ‘D’ out.

“We’re a blue-collar team. Where we thrive is off our forecheck and banging and creating turnovers. That’s where we get our goals. For whatever reason, we think we’re a highly-skilled team that’s just going to out-skill every team. We have to get back to good habits and working hard.”

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 6 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

Atkinson then laid it out pretty straight.

“We just have to figure it the f— out,” he said.

The Blue Jackets could use quite a bit more from the guys they traded for. Duchene has three points in seven games, Dzingel has two in five, and McQuaid, well, he’s been riding the press box express.

The Penguins eeked out an overtime win of their own on Tuesday, downing the Florida Panthers 3-2.

Unlike Columbus, however, the Penguins are surging at the right time with points in their past five games (3-0-2).

“Now is the true test. We probably shouldn’t be in this position with the team we have, but we are,” said general manager Jim Rutherford. “In some ways, it may come at a good time, because if this can come together like it should and everybody plays the way they’re capable of, the momentum will be on our side going into the playoffs.”

The Penguins were boosted Tuesday by the return of Brian Dumoulin. A concussion had kept him out of the lineup since their loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stadium series.

His return couldn’t have come at a better time as the Pens are reeling on the backend with Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and Chad Ruhwedel all missing because of injury. Dumoulin wasn’t nursed back into the lineup, either, playing 21:42.

John Forslund (play-by-play) and AJ Mleczko (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Pittsburgh. Pre-game coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Paul Burmeister alongside Jeremy Roenick and Mike Johnson.

Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck