Oct 26 Latest Penguins Buzz

Almost ten games into the season the 2025-2026 Pittsburgh Penguins (6-2-1, 13 pts) are not boring, we can say that about them. A roaring comeback with under six minutes left to play saw Pittsburgh salvage a point in a game they certainly didn’t deserve.

Somehow, someway this roster continues to prove to be a tough out over sixty minutes and that’s been a major difference from last year where first cause of trouble they imploded. As bad as the Penguins were outplayed, they picked on some bad goaltending from Elvis Merzlikins who needed some puck luck from having five or six goals get past him.

The Penguins, though, getting overwhelmed like they did in the second and third periods against Florida and a carryover Saturday night against a Blue Jackets team on a back-to-back, is what many expected to see on a more nightly basis and reality is we’re probably going to continue seeing it. How the Penguins weather those storms and they’ve done so admirably well thus far, will dictate whether they can sustain banking points as the season progresses.

What Went Wrong?

Pittsburgh was absolutely slaughtered 5 vs 5 and this was a night the #’s matched the eye test.

Pittsburgh @ 5 vs 5 play was outscored 4-2, combined with being outshot 37-to-16. Scoring chances were 33-15 Columbus and the Penguins were minus-8 in high danger chances.

No one is going to regard the Columbus Blue Jackets as a contender, heck, they are going to be a fringe level playoff caliber team at best in this division. But what was so striking is just the talent gap of players entering their prime compared Pittsburgh’s roster where the old dogs are still head and shoulders Pittsburgh’s best players on the ice.

Headlined by the likes of Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, Dmitri Voronkov, and Kent Johnson, the ability of their 25-and-younger core to create 1-on-1 offense is just something the Penguins don’t have with their roster and sooner or later it’s likely going to rear its ugly head long-term this season.

Everyone understands the Penguins plan with Ben Kindel who was a healthy scratch and giving him nights off. This was a night, though, the Penguins really missed Kindel just from a higher end skilled player in the bottom-6 being able to create an ounce of individual offense. And they really missed him which says something about the roster as a whole.

Hello, Ville Koivunen, who has been lights out in Wilkes Barre and heading back to Pittsburgh for Monday’s game vs St. Louis.

——Rickard Rakell exited the game early in the third. Rakell took a really hard hit down in the right corner near the end of the second period and there was concern last night in the organization. Rakell being out for even a few weeks would be a devastating blow to the Penguins with the team in the midst of a pretty tough schedule the next month……. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Defenseman Connor Clifton looks everything of being unplayable. Matt Dumba can still play a little and bring physicality and speed to the blueline in retrieving pucks. No issue getting him in here and there, but Clifton is another story……….. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!