The Latest Penguins Buzz

The Pittsburgh Penguins ( 29-26-6) enter Monday morning in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and four points out of the playoffs. The Penguins have given up 22 goals in their last five games. The NHL trade deadline is nine days away and the Penguins have four games remaining before the March 4th deadline. The Penguins have not ruled out adding a physical defenseman at the deadline. Ray Shero’s philosophy has been all about the Penguins young core since he was named General Manager in 2006. Shero has contended that by locking up Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney, Marc Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal, the Penguins would be serious contenders every season. The Penguins have $30.4 million committed to

Lineup News: Orpik in; Gill out

Quick update from today’s morning skate Brooks Orpik appears in and it looks like Hal Gill will be a healthy scratch. Gill and Goligoski will be the Penguins two scratches on the blueline. Pittsburgh Penguins (24-21-4-52) Lineup Dupuis – Crosby – Malkin Minard – Staal – Sykora Satan – Talbot – Kennedy Bissonnette – Thomas – Godard Defensemen Scuderi – Whitney Eaton – Letang Orpik – Boucher Marc Andre Fleury will start in goal Scratches: D Hal Gill, D Alex Goligoski More to come

Morning Skate update: Penguins recall Chris Minard

Alex Goligoski and Brooks Orpik will be the Penguins two scratches tonight. Goligoki is the seventh defensemen in the morning skate. Orpik is skating for the second consecutive day and is expected to return to the lineup this weekend. Marc Andre Fleury will make his 10th start in 11 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Chris Minard from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) to replace winger Matt Cooke who will be suspended for two games. Minard who leads the AHL with 28 goals, has one goal in 13 games with the Penguins. Cooke will be elgible to return against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, January 31st. It is also believed that the Penguins gave

Penguins recall Bissonnette and Thomas; Penguins return to practice on Monday

The Penguins have recalled forwards Paul Bissonnette and Bill Thomas. From Earlier- 1/25/09 – 9:58 p.m. The Pittsburgh Penguins will return to the ice tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. after a five day layoff from the All-Star Break. Forward Max Talbot who practiced on Monday and Tuesday of last week has been taking off of injured reserve and will return to the lineup on Wednesday when the Penguins face-off against the New York Rangers. Talbot has been sidelined with a shoulder injury and for the past month has been bothered with a foot injury that has hindered his play. The Penguins now have 10 active forwards with Pascal Dupuis also due back on Wednesday. The Penguins will make a few

Wednesday’s Penguins Report

The Penguins head into the All-Star break looking for answers as they sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference Standings. Tuesday night the Penguins had the opportunity to go into the break winning four of five when they faced off against the Carolina Hurricanes but the Penguins were not able to take advantage of playing at home and the Hurricanes playing the night before. The Penguins jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period with Evgeni Malkin scoring his 19th goal of the season but the Penguins couldn’t solve Cam Ward after that. Ward made 32 saves and the Penguins were outshot 40-33 as they lost to the Hurricanes 2-1 Tuesday night at Mellon Arena. The Hurricanes

The Latest Penguins Buzz

The All-Star break may be coming at a bad time for the Penguins. The Penguins have won three of their last four games and on Sunday the Penguins won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 15. The All-Star break will be a blessing for players Brooks Orpik, Sidney Crosby, and Max Talbot who are nursing injuries but the Penguins have some momentum right now. The Penguins host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and then don’t play until Wednesday January 28th Janne Pesonen’s fourth stint with the Penguins didn’t last long. Pesonen was a non-factor against the Ducks on the Friday and did not dress against the Rangers. The Penguins re-assigned Pesonen following yesterday’s game. As expected the Penguins

Penguins faceoff against the Capitals

Tonight‚Äôs matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins (21-19-4) and Washington Capitals ( 27-14-3) has no shortage of story lines. Story Line 1: Malkin vs Ovechkin Feud It has become clear over the past year that the former Russian roommates do not get along. Alexander Ovechkin goes out of his way time and time again to hit Malkin. Malkin addressed the issue saying “Ovechkin is a great player, but every time he hits me – I don’t know why,.‚Äù While Malkin and Ovechkin remain mostly quiet on the issue, it is believed it all stems back to Russian reports that Ovechkin took a swing at Malkin’s Russian agent, Gennady Ushakov, in a Moscow night club. Ovechkin denies the story but Evgeni Malkin

Orpik on Team USA’s Radar?

Brooks Orpik is going to garner serious consideration to make Team USA for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Team USA will look for a mix of offensive and physical minded defensemen. Orpik’s skating ability and the way he performs with offensive minded defensemen, will keep him in the running until the end according to sources Anytime Marian Gaborik’s name comes up in the rumor mill the Penguins are mentioned by the national media. For the time being Pittsburgh has yet to explore making a bid for Marian Gaborik. Pittsburgh does have their eye on one potential big name Colorado and Ottawa have interest in Blackhawks goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin but neither team will move on Khabibulin unless he is placed on re-entry

Day 2 NHL Free Agency

Day 3 8:40 a.m. – This is what I got right now. Jagr a longshot. Naslund is also looking like a longshot. Most of Naslunds efforts are with the New York Rangers, Vancouver and Minnesota. With Fleurys contract the pens are down to 8 million in cap space with 4 roster sports to fill. Shero looking at older veterans but i was told to lower the expectations. Hearing Jason Williams , Mirsolav Satan and this morning. A lot of pressure on Shero to get a top 6 winger via trade. gotta run… update later. 1:08 a.m. Penguins expect decision from Naslund tomorrow. Talks intensifying with Matt Cooke. Cooke is also in talks with two other teams. Despite Penguins breaking off

Day 1 NHL Free Agency Frenzy; Live Updates

Day 2 12:58 a.m. There is a 1yr 1.75 million offer on the table to forward Todd Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi is believed to be looking over three other offers with Calgary among the interested parties. With all of this talk of Jagr, I wouldn’t look past Markus Naslund who has been on the Penguins radar since the clock struck noon on July 1. Source tell TIOPS Ray Shero is taking calls regarding Ryan Whitney and listening to offers but it appears ownership wants Whitney to stay put. Penguins expect a decision from Jarkko Ruutu by Wednesday morning. No offer has been made to Jason Smith but the interest is there. The Penguins have yet to meet the demands of Brooks Orpik