Wednesday was another practice day for the Pittsburgh Penguins at UPMC Lemieux as they continue to ramp up for a return to game action this Friday against the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena. By now the jet lag from the flight home from Sweden should have worn off and hopefully the Penguins can be at their best when the puck drops against the Wild. Coming off just two games in an 11-day stretch, the Penguins will now play five games in a nine day window, including a pair back-to-back contests
to wrap up November.
Pens Points…
After a red hot start to the season, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins took their lumps following a rash of callups left them shorthanded. Now some of those callups have been replaced and the Baby Pens were back to their winning ways over the last week. [Pensburgh]
There were four different goaltenders on the ice at practice for the Penguins this week, but only two are healthy enough to play at the moment. Tristan Jarry is one of the injured netminders at the moment, but he’s slowly working his way back to game readiness. [Trib Live]
Many figured the Penguins were still a few seasons away from being true contenders again as they work through a franchise rebuild. While that still may turn out to be true, the sudden emergence of Sergei Murashov is a sign it may not be as long a trip back as feared. [The Athletic $$]
In a tough blow to the Penguins prospect pool, 2025 draftee Peyton Kettles will be in Pittsburgh on Friday to undergo shoulder surgery. The development was announced by Kettles’ junior team the Kelowna Rockets and no time frame for his recovery was given. [Trib Live]
While over in Sweden, some Penguins players had the chance to meet up with Swedish hockey royalty. Stopping by to pay the team a visit was Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg who sat down with Crosby for an interview on Swedish television where Crosby and Forsberg exchanged sticks. [Sports Illustrated]
NHL News and Notes…
It’s not often the engraver could reliably etch names on NHL awards trophies, but the race for the Norris Trophy and the Calder Trophy might be as settled as they could be at this point of the season with Cale Makar and Matthew Schaffer seemingly running away with the awards. [The Hockey News]
For the first time in its history, the Winter Classic is heading to Florida for a January 2nd showdown between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers in Miami. As always, the teams will be wearing specialty jerseys for the occasion, both of which were revealed on Wednesday. [NHL]
There will be no supplemental discipline for Mikko Rantenen for his dangerous hit on Alexander Romanov that resulted in an injury to Romanov and an ejection for Rantenen. [ESPN]
