Penguins Wrap: Crosby Climbs; A Notable Rebound; Defense in Flux

While you were perhaps doing a little too much ringing in, or otherwise celebrating, the Pittsburgh Penguins pushed forward over the past week. They stumbled out of the holiday break, looked solid in a rebound win, and went toe-to-toe with the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Team captain and heartbeat Sidney Crosby not only hit another milestone (there have been a lot this season for the 37-year-old), but he also passed icon Mario Lemieux with this one.

The Penguins blueline was in flux. Kris Letang got hurt, a 26-year-old made his NHL debut, a veteran returned from injury, and a rookie made his way back from a concussion.

Catch up on all of it. Click the links below.

Saturday: There was a celebration, and then there was a reset. It seemed as if Sidney Crosby had broken the all-time Penguins assist record with an apple against the New York Islanders. But then the official scorers took it away.

The Penguins chipped away at a three-goal deficit, but the comeback fell short. In their first game after the NHL’s Christmas break, they lost to the Islanders.

The loss, while it featured a comeback, also represented a return to some bad habits. Defenseman Erik Karlsson was especially straightforward about it. The team earned an overall D in the Penguins grades.

Sunday: Michael Bunting has a certain way he plays when he’s at the top of his game. He’s effective when he’s agitating. Meanwhile, P.O Joseph explained what it’s like to be back with the Penguins. It’s all in this Penguins sidebar.

Nate Clurman made his NHL debut with the Penguins in a rematch with the Islanders. Why? Because defenseman Kris Letang was a surprise scratch.

Sidney Crosby didn’t have to wait long to get that assist record. There was no scoring change this time, and he got to do it at home. He passed Mario Lemieux to set the franchise record with 1,034 assists.

The ovation for Crosby was hearty. The Penguins didn’t let that go to waste. Less than 24 hours after they lost to the Islanders on the road, they shored up their defense and won the rematch.

The checklist rang up awfully good. The Penguins not only rebounded to win the rematch with the Islanders, but they also did it by following a simple but effective formula. Check out the Penguins report card.

Monday: Maybe you thought you would never read this. Or see it. Defenseman Erik Karlsson has always been an offensive whiz, but suddenly he is flashing some strong defensive play.

The Penguins did not have an update on Kris Letang’s injury or his status more than 24 hours after he left a game against the Islanders. That had everyone holding their breath.

A lot of fans have been clamoring for Jesse Puljujarvi to get a chance to play. Instead, he’s been a healthy scratch on the regular. The Penguins raised some questions when they put him on waivers.

What the strong rebound over the weekend meant, more on Jesse Puljujarvi, a look at the need for more depth scoring, and which Penguins prospects are getting closer. That and more in a Penguins blog.

Tuesday: After holding their breath over the status if injured defenseman Kris Letang, the news wasn’t as bad it could have been. Also, the status of a fellow injured defenseman got a little clearer in this injury update.

The Penguins could well have lost Jesse Puljujarvi, but he cleared waivers. They didn’t demote him to the AHL, though. Coach Mike Sullivan offered an explanation.

The drought finally ended, doubly so, for Penguins forward Drew O’Connor, but the team didn’t exactly have a lot to celebrate at the end of the night on New Year’s Eve after a loss at Detroit.

With the exception of a poor start, the Penguins felt pretty good about their performance against the Red Wings despite losing. The letters were mostly good in the Penguins report card.

Wednesday: Defenseman Marcus Pettersson, back from injury, is a pending unrestricted free agent who could be on the trade block in the coming weeks. He doesn’t want to think or talk about that. But PHN had an update.

The loss in Detroit blunted Drew O’Connor’s two-goal breakout from his goal slump. Wait until you read about a certain moment in practice between Sidney Crosby and Ryan Graves. Check out the report from the Penguins locker room.

Thursday: Sportsnet ranked the NHL players from this century, which, if you are bad at math, is nearly a quarter of the way through. Guess who was No. 1? Yeah, that Crosby guy.

No, the Penguins are not Stanley Cup contenders as constructed. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth watching. In a column, PHN’s Dan Kingerski outlined how fans can still enjoy watching this team in 2025.

Friday: You could feel the emotion coming through in PHN’s Dave Molinari’s words. This isn’t the first time he has made this push, and he’s not likely to let it go. In a column, he outlines the case for erecting a statue of Mike Lange.

These weren’t blockbusters. Hardly even minibusters. Still, the Penguins showed they are remaining active with a couple minor trades.

Going toe-to-toe against the defending Stanley Cup champions, on the road no less, and coming back to force extra time earned the Penguins a point as they fell to Florida.

There were encouraging signs as the Penguins addressed all the things they set out to against a strong Panthers team. Rookie defenseman Owen Pickering returned from injury. They tied it late in regulation, to boot. So even in a loss in a shootout, things looked pretty good in the Penguins grades.