Seth Rorabaugh stories, Page 33
Penguins defenseman Owen Pickering remains sidelined due to illness
Pittsburgh Penguins rookie defenseman Owen Pickering was absent from practice Thursday in Cranberry because of an unspecified illness. He was scratched from a 5-4 home win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday for the same reason. After Thursday’s practice, coach Mike Sullivan indicated Pickering is still being evaluated, and it...
Minor league report: Nailers’ winning streak reaches 6 gamesVideo
Two goals by defenseman Mats Lindgren led the Wheeling Nailers to a 4-1 win against the Toledo Walleye at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, W.Va. on Wednesday. Goaltender Sergei Murashov made 36 saves on 37 shots to improve his record to 7-2-0 while forwards Atley Calvert and Jordan Martel each contributed...
Penguins thankful for holding on to 3rd-period lead, beating Canucks
Mike Sullivan doesn’t believe in the significance of Thanksgiving. To be clear, he’s totally cool with the holiday. Turkey, pumpkin pie, family, football, the whole deal. He digs it. But the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach doesn’t put much weight into the notion that has become popular in recent years that...
Penguins assign Valtteri Puustinen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; activate Blake Lizotte from injured reserve
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen cleared waivers Wednesday and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. That transaction allowed the team to activate forward Blake Lizotte from injured reserve prior to Wednesday’s home game against the Vancouver Canucks. Lizotte has missed the previous five games due to a...
New Penguins forward Philip Tomasino wants — and needs — a fresh start
It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. Maybe apples-to-hot dogs. But the Pittsburgh Penguins traded for a right winger named Phil who is looking for a fresh start. In 2015, they brought in All-Star forward Phil Kessel, and that maneuver led to two Stanley Cup banners as well as countless memes about...
A bad mood won’t help the Penguins avoid more bad results
Everything came down to a one-on-one confrontation Monday in Cranberry. Forward Matt Nieto vs. goaltender Tristan Jarry. Nieto attacked. Jarry reacted. Nieto scored. As Nieto skated toward the left-wing boards to celebrate, half of the Penguins roster — all clad in yellow practice jerseys — mobbed Nieto to celebrate winning...
Penguins acquire forward Philip Tomasino from PredatorsVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired forward Philip Tomasino from the Nashville Predators on Monday. In return, they exchanged a fourth-round pick in the 2027 draft. Tomasino, 23, was a first-round draft pick (No. 24 overall) in 2019. A right-handed shot, he has appeared in 11 games this season and has recorded...
Minor league report: Nailers, Sergei Murashov conquer KometsVideo
Goaltender Sergei Murashov made a season-high 48 saves on 52 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 6-4 road win against the Forth Wayne Komets at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Saturday. Murashov improved his ECHL record to 6-2-0 as Wheeling (9-3-1-0) extended a...
Utah spoils Sidney Crosby’s milestone night as Penguins suffer 8th loss in past 10 games
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic didn’t have to ruminate a great deal when asked how to describe his team last week. “Inconsistent is probably a good word, a good way to describe it,” Nedeljkovic said in Cranberry on Wednesday. “Game to game, period to period, sometimes even shift to shift....
Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic scheduled to start against Utah Hockey Club
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic is scheduled to start Saturday’s home game against the Utah Hockey Club at PPG Paints Arena. Coach Mike Sullivan announced Nedeljkovic’s status approximately two hours before the opening faceoff. In 10 games this season, Nedeljkovic has a 3-3-3 record, a 3.17 goals against average and...
West Mifflin’s Logan Cooley finds comfort in his second NHL season with Utah
Coming home is always special for Logan Cooley. It’s even more special when his mother, Cathy, offers a grand feast in their West Mifflin abode. Such was the case on Friday as Cooley, a forward with the Utah Hockey Club, had a day off before facing the Pittsburgh Penguins on...
Former Penguins forward Nick Bonino signs in SloveniaVideo
Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Bonino has signed with HK Olimpija Ljubljana, a team based in Slovenia that competes in the International Central European Hockey League (ICEHL). In addition to Slovenia, that league has teams based in Austria, Italy and Hungary. HK Olimpija Ljubljana announced the signing via a release...
Minor league report: Penguins, Joel Blomqvist shut out IslandersVideo
Goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 23 saves for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-0 shutout of the Bridgeport Islanders at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Friday. It was the first shutout of the season for Blomqvist, who improved his American Hockey League record to 1-1-0. Forward Emil Bemstrom had two...
Jets send skidding Penguins to 7th loss in past 9 games
Mike Sullivan has directed a blunt missive to his team in recent days. “We’ve got to be harder to play against,” the coach said Wednesday. That may leave some room for interpretation, but in practice Thursday, it translated into a physically demanding session. Players hit the ice — literally —...
Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk remains ‘a work in progress, for sure’
It was a pretty sedate offseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins this past summer. After splurging on the likes of defensemen Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson the year prior, management mostly operated with a frugal budget and looked for the clearance rack of dented cans or torn boxes in the rear...
Penguins forward prospect Tanner Howe traded in Western Hockey LeagueVideo
Pittsburgh Penguins forward prospect Tanner Howe was traded within the Western Hockey League (WHL) on Thursday. A left-handed shot, Howe was dealt by the Regina Pats to the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for forward Keet Fawcett and defenseman Reese Hamilton as well as draft picks in future WHL draft. Serving...
Injured Penguins forward Kevin Hayes closing in on return to lineup
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Kevin Hayes is closing in on a potential return to the lineup as he recovers from an undisclosed injury that has sidelined him for the past seven games. On Thursday in Cranberry, Hayes skated in practice in a full capacity. He engaged in full contact but did...
Where are the Penguins after a quarter of the season?
The Pittsburgh Penguins had only 14 players on the ice for practice Wednesday in Cranberry. It wasn’t an optional practice. Specific players — i.e. the ones who have played the most minutes recently — were told to stay off the ice for what was termed as a “recovery day,” a day...
Fans boo goaltender Tristan Jarry as Penguins blow lead in OT loss to Lightning
Tristan Jarry was booed before the game even began Tuesday. When the Pittsburgh Penguins’ starting lineup was announced over the public address system at PPG Paints Arena, there was a mix of cheers and jeers as Jarry’s name was read. And on the occasions he played a puck dumped into...
Former Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is loving life with the LightningVideo
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel had been in the visiting dressing room of PPG Paints Arena before Tuesday’s morning skate. He was stationed there as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes on March 26 during the late stages of the 2023-24 season. But even before that, some of his...
Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci sidelined following minor medical procedure
Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci will be away from the team for approximately a week after undergoing an undisclosed medical procedure that was labeled as minor. Head coach Mike Sullivan announced Vellucci’s status following practice in Cranberry on Monday. Vellucci did not participate in the practice session. The procedure...
Penguins get younger with rookies Owen Pickering, Vasily Ponomarev, Sam Poulin
Over the span of five days, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ active roster saw a considerable decline. In age. When they took the ice for a 7-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Nov. 11, they had an average age of a ripe 30.2. By the time they dispatched the San...
Minor league report: Penguins, Joel Blomqvist beaten by IslandersVideo
In his season debut at the American Hockey League level, goaltender Joel Blomqvist made 29 saves on 32 shots for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a 5-2 loss to the Bridgeport Islanders at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. Forwards Raivis Ansons and Tristan Broz each scored goals for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (8-4-1-0). Highlights:...
Penguins turn to youth in shootout win against Sharks
Mike Sullivan professes a base consideration when he crafts each and every lineup he writes out as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. “Which guy gives us the best chance to win,” Sullivan said as recently as Nov. 10. “That is what pro sports is all about. Performance is always going...
Penguins rookie defenseman Jack St. Ivany feels more secure as an NHLer
Jack St. Ivany reached a minor milestone Friday, but he wasn’t aware it was approaching when the topic was brought up earlier in the week. The right-handed defenseman set a career high in games played when he dressed for his 15th contest of the season Friday, a 6-2 road loss...

