Penguins Wrap: Crosby Injury; Retool Strategy; Prospects Rise

The Pittsburgh Penguins, in their final full week before the NHL pauses for the 4 Nations Face-Off, had some ups and downs, but still managed to take five of six points from Saturday to Friday, including a big effort at Madison Square Garden while missing their top two centers.

Leading scorer Sidney Crosby, who during the week was called “the heartbeat” of the team at least twice by coach Mike Sullivan, missed his first game since April 2022 because an upper-body injury. And that came with No. 2 center Evgeni Malkin already out. That made their week-ending win against the New York Rangers all the more impressive.

Still, with one game left before the break, at Philadelphia, the standings are not the Penguins’ friend at this point, and the playoffs seem nearly out of reach, even as they are in the midst of a heavy diet of Metropolitan Division games. But they keep plugging along.

Catch up on the past week. Click the links.

Saturday: With newly acquired players Danton Heinen and Vincent Desharnais in the lineup — and Drew O’Connor and Marcus Pettersson shipped off to Vancouver — the Penguins and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic shut out Nasvhille.

This win just hit differently. The Penguins combined strong defensive play and a physical presence to shut out the Predators and win back-to-back games for the first time since mid-December. They earned an overall grade of A from PHN. Read the Penguins report card.

Sunday: Check out this statement: “Patience isn’t just a virtue for a team in the Penguins’ situation. It’s a necessity.” That’s how PHN’s Dave Molinari feels about the rebuild or retool or whatever you might call the team’s strategy. Read Molinari’s column.

Molinari wasn’t the only one to weigh in. After Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas met with reporters a day earlier, PHN’s Dan Kingerski outlined what he sees as Dubas’ strategy to stockpile young players. Ready Kingerski’s column.

The biggest return — literally — in the trade with Vancouver was hulking defenseman Vincent Desharnais. What can the Penguins expect, and what are his expectations?

Monday: The Penguins made their first big move with the trade with Vancouver. Pretty much everyone expects more before the March 7 NHL trade deadline, and lots of people have a keen interest in and opinions about what comes next. Except in the Penguins locker room.

Before the Penguins practiced, a lone player took to the ice for an individual workout — second-line center Evgeni Malkin.

Boko Imama is clear about what his role has to be if he wants to stick with the Penguins. And, yeah, that includes fighting.

Tuesday: Talk about motivation. After being snubbed by Team Sweden for the 4 Nations Face-Off despite a strong first half of the season, Rickard Rakell has been on fire. When there was an injury opening for the Swedish roster, Rakell got rewarded.

Beware the unfounded trade rumors. That, a look at Kris Letang’s age catching up, and the optimism that still resides in the locker room. It’s all in the Penguins one-timers.

The Penguins couldn’t quite squeeze out a third win in row, despite overcoming a two-goal deficit, but they did earn a point against New Jersey with a shootout loss.

Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic was hard on himself after the loss, but his teammates didn’t come up with quite enough support, especially in the shootout. It’s in the Penguins report card.

Wednesday: It seemed as if the Penguins had avoided disaster when Sidney Crosby left Tuesday’s game after getting his left arm/elbow crunched. There was relief when he returned to finish that game, but in the harsh light of the next day, Crosby did not practice, and it was revealed that he was being evaluated for an injury.

This is Danton Heinen’s second stint with the Penguins. After a couple games and a couple practices back, it seemed as if there was a good question to ask him, given the Penguins shortcomings the past couple seasons: How does he evaluate the current Penguins?

He was hardly used in his latest promotion. Even though they might have needed an extra forward, the Penguins demoted Jesse Puljujarvi.

Speaking of prospects, the Penguins seem to have a good one developing well with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Meet the latest AHL rookie of the month, Ville Koivunen.

The Penguins never approached defenseman Marcus Pettersson about a new contract as he faced unrestricted free agency this summer. Vancouver, however, wasted little time in tying up Pettersson to a six-year deal.

Thursday: In news from the business side of the franchise, Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin announced that at the end of the season, he is stepping down.

First, Sidney Crosby appeared on the ice. But the relief was tempered when he moved to another rink and worked out separately, essentially missing practice.

Crosby did not speak with reporters, and there was no definitive update on his injury status for the team’s two weekend games, or for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-off. So his short-term outlook remained hazy.

Friday: The Penguins are riding veteran Alex Nedeljkovic in net. With Tristan Jarry in the AHL, where does that leave current, and lightly-used, rookie backup Joel Blomqvist?

The Penguins made it official. Even though he participated in an optional morning skate, an upper-body injury he is dealing with would keep Sidney Crosby out of the lineup.

With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out for a road game against the New York Rangers, and Jesse Puljujarvi just sent down, the Penguins recalled Emil Bemstrom.

Wow. The Penguins, despite being shorthanded, stepped up big time. Against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, they eked out a gutsy win.

Resilience, desperation and overcoming a lot led to a satisfying Penguins win. And perhaps a satisfying brewski. Check out the Penguins report card.