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Top Penguins News
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Penguins' Evgeni Malkin: Limited at practice
Malkin (upper body) skated Wednesday but didn't participate in line rushes, Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site reports.
The fact that Malkin wasn't working in his usual second-line center spot doesn't bode well for his availability against the Oilers on Thursday, though he hasn't been officially ruled out. After questions about his durability throughout his career, the 38-year-old center actually played in all 82 regular-season games in each of the previous two campaigns -- a streak that came to an end against Columbus on Tuesday.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Facing role reduction
Graves was scratched for the second game in a row in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
Kris Letang's return from a lower-body injury has given the Penguins a full complement of blueliners. Graves played in 10 of 13 games in December, but he may not see as much playing time as long as the team's blue line stays healthy. Graves has had a miserable 2024-25 with zero points over 31 contests while posting a minus-8 rating, 23 shots on net, 36 hits and 40 blocked shots. For now, Owen Pickering and Pierre-Olivier Joseph have the upper hand for third-pairing minutes.
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Penguins' Michael Bunting: Strikes on power play Tuesday
Bunting scored a power-play goal on three shots in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
Bunting tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period. The winger has six goals and two assists over his last seven games, and five of those eight points have come on the power play. Bunting figures to stay productive as long as he's on the top power-play unit, though a second-line role at even strength is also a good spot. The 29-year-old has 13 tallies, 24 points (11 on the power play), 81 shots on net, 46 hits, 32 PIM and a minus-11 rating through 41 appearances. He's behind last year's 55-point pace, but Bunting has momentum on his side heading into the second half of 2024-25.
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Penguins' Erik Karlsson: Two-point effort Tuesday
Karlsson collected two assists, one on the power play, in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
The veteran blueliner also added four shots on net, three blocked shots and two PIM to his ledger. Karlsson is having his most productive stretch of the season, and over the last 10 games he's delivered four multi-point performances while racking up two goals and 11 points with 28 shots, 17 blocked shots, 12 PIM and a plus-2 rating
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Penguins' Sidney Crosby: Two helpers against Jackets
Crosby dished two assists, one on the power play, in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
The future Hall of Famer helped set up tallies by Michael Bunting in the second period and Rickard Rakell in the third, but Crosby couldn't beat Elvis Merzlikins in the shootout. Crosby hasn't gone consecutive games without getting onto the scoresheet since late October, and over the last 12 contests he's surged for three goals and 17 points. On the downside, Crosby's minus-12 rating on the season would be the worst mark of his career, as would his 9.0 percent shooting, but some slippage in the 37-year-old's skills isn't a big surprise.
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Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Up to 20 goals on season
Rakell scored two goals in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.
The veteran winger broke open a 1-1 tie with two rockets in the third period to beat Elvis Merzlikins, but the Penguins' defense couldn't make the lead hold up over the final 10 minutes of regulation. Rakell has been locked in over the last month, producing 10 goals and 19 points in the last 14 games, and the surge has already carried him to his sixth career 20-goal campaign in only 42 appearances. While he's been streaky throughout his career, if Rakell continues skating on a line with Sidney Crosby and maintaining a spot on the No. 1 power-play unit, his career-high mark of 34 goals from 2017-18 seems well within reach.
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Penguins' Tristan Jarry: Can't hang onto lead Tuesday
Jarry turned aside 26 shots in regulation and overtime and one of three shootout attempts in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.
Rickard Rakell struck twice in the third period to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead, but Jarry couldn't make it stick before Pittsburgh's skaters came up empty in the shootout. Jarry has just one win in his last five starts, going 1-2-2 with a 2.95 GAA and .899 save percentage, and he seems to be slipping back into a timeshare with Alex Nedeljkovic as the Pens try to find some consistency between the pipes.
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Penguins' Evgeni Malkin: Not available Tuesday
Malkin (upper body) won't play Tuesday versus the Blue Jackets.
Malkin will miss his first game of the season. The 38-year-old center participated in the morning skate Tuesday, so his absence is a bit of a surprise. He has logged seven points over his last nine outings.
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Penguins' Tristan Jarry: Set to start Tuesday
Jarry was the first goalie off at Tuesday's morning skate, indicating he'll tend the home twine against the Blue Jackets, according to Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Jarry made 31 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to Florida on Friday to open the new calendar year. The Blue Jackets have generated 135 goals through 40 games, which is tied for the seventh-highest mark in the NHL. Jarry owns an 8-2-1 record, .916 save percentage and 2.63 GAA over 12 career appearances against Columbus.
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Penguins' Drew O'Connor: Lends helper in overtime loss
O'Connor notched an assist in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
O'Connor has earned three points over his last three outings. The 26-year-old had been quiet over the previous seven contests, so there's no guarantee he'll be stable on offense going forward. He continues to play in a third-line role, though he's also picked up some power-play time lately, which gives him a better opportunity to produce. O'Connor has 13 points, 60 shots on net, 37 hits, 34 blocked shots and a minus-13 rating through 41 appearances.
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Penguins' Matt Grzelcyk: Offers helper Sunday
Grzelcyk notched an assist and two shots on goal in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Grzelcyk has four helpers over his last five games, though just one of those assists has come on the power play. The Penguins' defense is back to full health following Kris Letang's return Sunday, so Grzelcyk will need to be sharp at both ends of the ice to maintain his second-pairing role. For the season, the 31-year-old blueliner has 21 points, 52 shots on net, 53 blocked shots and a minus-9 rating over 41 contests.
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Penguins' Rickard Rakell: Picks up helper in overtime loss
Rakell notched an assist, two shots on goal, two blocked shots and a minus-3 in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Rakell was in the red for plus-minus for a fifth straight game -- he has four points and a minus-8 rating in that span. As long as his offense stays steady, everything else is forgivable. The 31-year-old forward is at 33 points (nine on the power play), 98 shots on net, 69 hits, 44 blocked shots and a minus-6 rating over 41 appearances this season.
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Penguins' Bryan Rust: Earns assist Sunday
Rust managed an assist and two blocked shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Rust has a helper in back-to-back contests after going three games without a point. The 32-year-old winger started the year cold amid a couple of injury concerns, but he was excellent between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rust is at 15 goals, 14 assists, 95 shots on net, 33 hits, 27 blocked shots and a minus-20 rating through 34 contests overall.
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Penguins' Kevin Hayes: Ends goal drought
Hayes scored a goal on two shots and blocked three shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Hayes hadn't scored in his last seven games, and he was also scratched for nine consecutive contests from Dec. 12-31. New year, new opportunity -- Philip Tomasino (lower body) is week-to-week, so Hayes has a chance to regain a foothold in the Penguins' bottom six. For the season, Hayes has five goals, three assists, 29 shots on net and a minus-11 rating over 24 appearances. He's unlikely to produce enough offense to help in fantasy.
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Penguins' Michael Bunting: Tallies in overtime loss
Bunting scored a goal in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Bunting has five goals and two assists over his last six games. Four of those seven points have come on the power play, but his goal Sunday was at even strength to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead at 5:08 of the first period. The winger is up to 12 goals, 23 points, 78 shots on net, 45 hits, 32 PIM and a minus-11 rating through 40 appearances. He'll continue to have decent fantasy value both for his offense and his agitation skills as long as he plays in a top-six role.
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Penguins' Erik Karlsson: Goal, assist in overtime loss
Karlsson scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist and blocked two shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
Karlsson set up a Michael Bunting goal in the first period and tied the game at 3-3 with his own tally in the third. This was Karlsson's third multi-point effort over his last nine games, a span in which he's collected two goals and seven assists. For the season, the star defenseman has 28 points, 100 shots on net, 54 blocked shots and a minus-7 rating over 41 outings. Despite a dip in goal-scoring, he's on pace to exactly match his 56-point output from 2023-24.
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Penguins' Alex Nedeljkovic: Loses in overtime Sunday
Nedeljkovic stopped 27 of 31 shots in Sunday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes.
A three-goal second period accounted for most of the damage, and Nedeljkovic also gave up a goal to Sebastian Aho in overtime to take the loss against the team with which he made his NHL debut back in 2016-17. Nedeljkovic has started three of the Penguins' last four games, going 1-1-1 with nine goals allowed in that span. He's now 6-6-4 with a 3.22 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 17 contests this season. Tristan Jarry hasn't done much to keep hold of the crease, but Nedeljkovic isn't really any better, so expect a timeshare to continue between the pipes for the Penguins.
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Team Statistical Rankings
| GF AVG | GA AVG | Power Play | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 2.97 | 3.56 | 26.2 |
Injuries
| Player | Injury |
|---|---|
| E. Malkin C Evgeni Malkin C | Upper Body |
| P. Tomasino C Philip Tomasino C | Lower Body |
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