Here are your Pens Points for this Friday morning…
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin returned from a 15-game absence on Thursday, giving even more depth to a Pittsburgh team that has recently found its stride. Malkin, 39, scored a power-play goal as the Penguins beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night for their sixth straight victory. [Recap]
The Penguins on Thursday assigned rookie forward Ville Koivunen to their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. [Trib Live]
The Jake Guentzel trade in March 2024 unofficially signaled the beginning
of the Penguins’ current rebuild. But the trade tree has branches that are still growing, and in doing so, continuing to impact the Penguins in more beneficial ways than one. [PensBurgh]
News and notes from around the NHL…
The San Jose Sharks acquired goaltender Laurent Brossoit from the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday in a multi-player trade that also involved draft picks. [TSN]
Patrick Kane became the 50th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals, as his Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Thursday night. [Associated Press]
The ice surface for the 2026 Olympic Games has become a hot topic, as construction appears to be coming down to the 11th hour. Despite that, some players share similar sentiments to those of Team USA and Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who said last month on his podcast, “I don’t give a sh*t, I’m going over there. Even if it’s not safe, I still want to play.” While several sources have relayed to ESPN that they don’t anticipate any issues over the next month that would prevent NHL players from participating in Italy, others added that there is no Plan B for an alternative tournament should the ice surface not meet standards. [ESPN]
