A slow start on Wednesday night saw the Pittsburgh fall into a 4-1 that they almost clawed back from but ultimately fell short in a 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals in D.C. Bryan Rust made his season debut after battling injury and scored his first of the season while Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson tallied the other Penguin markers in the loss. [Pensburgh]
Pens Points…
Something was going to have to give when it came to the Penguins logjam at forward and a domino fell on Wednesday with Kyle Dubas dealing Filip
Hallander to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Spencer Stastney. [Pensburgh]
In a related move to the Hallander trade, the Penguins activated Bryan Rust from injured reserve after missing the first three games of the season and made his debut against the Washington Capitals last night. [Trib Live]
Coming off their best season in over a decade, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins began their 2026-27 campaign over the weekend with a pair of losses, one in overtime, to Springfield and Hershey respectively. [Pensburgh]
Declan Carlile received only a single NCAA scholarship offer coming out of junior hockey. After three seasons at Merrimack College then battling through the minors to make the NHL, Carlile now finds himself skating on the Penguins top defensive pairing. [PPG]
Matt Dumba has called it a career after 13 NHL seasons with five different clubs. Dumba played his final career NHL game on December 7th of last season as a member of the Penguins. His final professional game came with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. [Trib Live]
Andrei Kuzmenko was granted non-roster status by the NHL as he continues to work back from missing time following the death of his father. He will work to get back in game shape at practice with the team but will not play any earlier than Saturday against Dallas. [Sportsnet Pittsburgh]
NHL News and Notes…
Alexander Ovechkin says he doesn’t want a farewell tour for his final season but he’s surely going to get a warm reception when he plays his final game at various arenas around the league. His last time on the ice at PPG Paints Arena will come on March 13th with his final home game in D.C. set for April 4th. [RMNB]
Coming off a season ending injury in 2025-26, New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov will be sidelined for another whole season as he recovers from a torn ACL that will take 6-8 months of healing following surgery. [NHL]
