Let Pens Points help get your morning started right if you sacrificed sleep to watch the Penguins in LA.
It was a late night for those of us fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins who reside on the east coast, many of whom surely did not make it to see the conclusion of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings which began at 10:30 PM Pittsburgh time. Not to worry of course because Pensburgh has a full recap of the game on the main site you can check out to catch up on all the action from Los Angeles.
Pens Points…
The Penguins got the victory last night, downing the Kings 5-1. 11 Pittsburgh players recorded at least a point on the night (but not Alex Nedeljkovic this time) and Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby and Anthony Beauvillier enjoyed multi-point efforts. [Pensburgh]
Rickard Rakell missed the game last night and is back in Pittsburgh attending to a family matter. [Rotowire]
The Pens and Kings honored first responders for the first hockey game played in Los Angeles after the deadly wildfires broke out. [Sportsnet]
Through three games of this season long seven-game road trip, the Penguins are 2-1-0. What happens over the course of the remaining four games out west may very well determine what happens the rest of the way. [Pensburgh]
Crosby and Kris Letang combined to score points on their 306th goal together, tying Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr for second place all-time among a forward-defenseman combination. (Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey sit in first with 350). [Twitter – Bob Grove]
Down but far from out, the Penguins have no plans on giving up hopes of nabbing a playoff spot. While the odds are certainly stacked against them given the situation, there is a belief in the locker room that this team is playoff caliber. [The Hockey News]
Joel Blomqvist is happy to be back in Pittsburgh and earned praise for his first performance back in the big leagues. [Penguins.com]
One of the main areas of improvement Kyle Dubas has focused on since coming to Pittsburgh is building up a barren prospect pool. Some good drafting and good trading has improved on the empty cupboards he was greeted with. [The Athletic $$]
NHL News and Notes…
The Penguins saw first hand just what kind of season Logan Thompson was putting together for the Washington Capitals on Saturday night, falling victim to his stellar goaltending that led him to be named First Star of the Week. [NHL]
Frustrations boiled over for Connor McDavid over the weekend and his actions have resulted in a three game suspension for a cross-check to the head of Connor Garland in retaliation for some questionable defense from Garland. [NHL]
Former Penguin GM Patrik Allvin held a press conference yesterday and said the Canucks will consider trades that make sense for them, as rumors swirl about the possibility of J.T. Miller getting moved. [TSN]