Tag: Pittsburgh

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NHL (National Hockey League)

Penguins visit the Flyers in Philadelphia with Sidney Crosby’s status uncertain

Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t played many games without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin over the past 20 years, but they found themselves in that situation on Friday — and passed the test without their two star players. Now, they will look to carry that momentum into a Saturday road game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh is 3-0-1 in its last four games, most recently beating the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday. Crosby missed the game with an upper-body injury after playing in 229 straight contests. Malkin is out with a lower-body injury and is listed as week-to-week.

It’s unclear if Crosby will return for the game on Saturday.

“Right now, we’re just taking it one day at a time when it comes to Crosby’s situation, but it’s encouraging he was on the ice (Friday) for the optional game-day skate,” said coach Mike Sullivan. Crosby leads the team in assists (41) and points (58). “Obviously, he’s an important player for us. When he’s not in our lineup, he’s a hard guy to replace. He’s the heartbeat of this team.”

Malkin hasn’t had his best season, but he still has 34 points in 47 games.

Without their two superstars, the Penguins have been leaning on players like winger Rickard Rakell, who has scored in the last two games, and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who has given up only eight goals in his last five games.

“We’ve put ourselves in a spot to climb back to .500 now,” said Nedeljkovic, referring to the Penguins’ 23-24-9 record. “Gives us a chance to (get there Saturday). So, we’re hoping to get the job done.”

The Flyers are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, sitting below the Penguins. They’ve lost five straight games (0-4-1) and scored only five goals during that stretch, which included three shutout losses in a row.

Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)

Philadelphia fought hard against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday but lost 4-3.

“I thought we played a (heck) of a game. Just a couple breaks here and there,” said Tyson Foerster, who has scored in two straight games.

Flyers coach John Tortorella, who is calmer than in his earlier coaching days, is trying to stay composed despite the long losing streak.

“There’s a lot of encouraging things in this God-awful losing streak we’re in,” Tortorella said. “I still think we have a lot of meaningful games left.”

Saturday’s game will be the final one for both teams before the league takes a two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh won’t play again until Feb. 22, when they will face each other twice before the end of the month.

The Penguins won the first meeting of the season 7-3 on Dec. 23. Pittsburgh scored four goals in the first period, three of which were assisted by Crosby, and the Penguins captain added an empty-net goal in the third period.

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NHL (National Hockey League)

NHL roundup: Penguins defeat Rangers in Pittsburgh despite missing two key players

Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers

Philip Tomasino’s goal that broke the tie stood out in a three-goal second period as the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing without superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, managed a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Friday night.

Blake Lizotte and Rickard Rakell also scored, and Alex Nedeljkovic made 22 saves for the Penguins, who extended their unbeaten streak to 3-0-1 in the last four games.

Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox also scored for the Rangers, who were aiming for a third consecutive win. Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves.

Malkin (lower-body injury) missed his fifth straight game, while Crosby (upper-body injury) saw his streak of 229 regular-season games played end. This was the first time since November 13, 2021, that the Penguins played without both Crosby and Malkin in the same regular-season game.

Jets 4, Islanders 3

Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots as Winnipeg won its eighth straight game, beating the New York Islanders.

This eight-game streak matches the longest in the team’s history, dating back to the 1999-2000 season with the Atlanta Thrashers. The Jets also went 8-0-0 in their first eight games this season.

Alex Iafallo and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg, and Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each recorded two assists. Simon Holmstrom, Marc Gatcomb, and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Islanders, who lost for only the second time in their last 10 games. Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves.

Avalanche 5, Oilers 4

Martin Necas scored with 4:22 left in the third period to give Colorado a 5-4 win over Edmonton after the Avalanche had lost a 4-2 lead.

Cole Makar scored twice and assisted on another, while Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and three assists for the Avalanche, who have won four of their last five games. Artturi Lehkonen had a goal and an assist, Devon Toews had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves.

Colorado Avalanche (NHL)

Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each scored twice for Edmonton, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins earning two assists. Stuart Skinner allowed three goals on 12 shots in the first period, and Calvin Pickard made 17 saves in the last two periods.

Blackhawks 6, Predators 2

Ryan Donato scored two goals and had two assists to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-2 victory over Nashville.

Frank Nazar, Connor Bedard, and Seth Jones each had a goal and an assist, while Patrick Maroon also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended a three-game losing streak. Teuvo Teravainen and Alex Vlasic each had two assists, and Petr Mrazek stopped 31 shots.

Colton Sissons and Tommy Novak scored for the Predators, who lost their sixth straight. Juuse Saros made 24 saves.

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Improving Penguins gear up for key division stretch against Devils after attending Jets-Steelers NFL game

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to extend their recent success when they play the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

The Penguins have won two straight games, while the Devils have a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games.

After struggling to score just one goal in three consecutive games, the Penguins have started to find their offense again, scoring three goals in each of their last two wins.

Sidney Crosby has been a key player for Pittsburgh, scoring in each of the last four games.

When talking about the Penguins’ 3-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday, Crosby credited the team’s effort, saying, “Just moving the puck. I thought our ‘D’ did a really good job getting it to the forwards and if they couldn’t make the pass, they skated it themselves or they got it deep.

It was pretty simple, it’s not always easy to execute that consistently and I think the (defensemen) were really good at just taking the play that was there, and then our forwards were on pucks and winning battles, which is a big part of it.”

Crosby also added an assist in that game, giving him four goals and two assists during his four-game point streak.

Before Saturday’s win, the Penguins had not won back-to-back games since Dec. 17-19. They are 7-10-3 since that streak ended.

The Devils have struggled recently, losing two of their last three games, including a 4-3 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday. They were down 3-0 after the first period and 4-1 after the second, but made a strong third-period push that came up short.

Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

“We put ourselves in that position early,” said Paul Cotter, who scored the Devils’ first two goals Sunday. “Normally when a team gets a lead like that, it’s pretty hard to come back. I think as the game went on, we got a little bit better, but our start needs to be a lot better.”

New Jersey is missing captain Nico Hischier, who is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, and starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who will be out for four to six weeks due to a lower-body injury.

In Hischier’s absence, Jack Hughes has stepped up, earning points in five straight games (three goals, three assists). Goalie Jake Allen has taken over as the starter, with a 2-2 record and a 2.72 goals-against average.

The Devils have had the upper hand on the Penguins recently, winning eight of the last nine matchups and outscoring them 38-17.

Tuesday’s game begins a key seven-game stretch for the Penguins, with six of those games against division rivals. Pittsburgh is currently seven points behind the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. After facing the Devils, the Penguins will play the Philadelphia Flyers three times, the New York Rangers twice, and the top-ranked Washington Capitals once.

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Virginia and Pitt look to rebound after close losses in their next matchups

Pittsburgh (NCAAB)

Pittsburgh and Virginia are looking to bounce back after tough losses as they face each other on Monday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

The Panthers (14-7, 5-5 ACC) lost 76-74 at Wake Forest on Saturday, ending their two-game win streak, while the Cavaliers (10-12, 3-8) were defeated 75-74 at home by Virginia Tech, missing a chance to get back to .500.

Pitt led by five points early in the second half against Wake Forest, but the game came down to free throws. Both teams were perfect at the line, with the Panthers going 20-of-20 and the Demon Deacons 20-of-22, including six free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.

Damian Dunn led Pitt with a season-high 24 points, while Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett combined for 30 points but struggled, shooting just 8-for-26 from the field.

“We had missed shots right at the rim we didn’t make,” said Panthers coach Jeff Capel. “Whether it was layups, pull-ups — things like that, we have to make those. If we take a shot, we can’t give up a layup in transition … we had some opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize.”

Virginia also had a chance to win on Saturday after trailing by as many as 13 points to Virginia Tech.

Isaac McKneely led the Cavaliers with 19 points. Andrew Rohde added 12 off the bench, but his contested shot at the buzzer rolled off the rim.

Houston Cougars and West Virginia Mountaineers

“We fought back all the way, had a chance to win it,” McKneely said. “So you just gotta live with the result at that point. But I was proud of the way we fought back.”

McKneely leads Virginia with 13.3 points per game and is shooting 42.3% from 3-point range. Lowe (17.4) and Leggett (16.5) provide scoring for the Panthers.

Virginia leads the all-time series 19-6, but Pitt has won the last two matchups, including a 74-63 win last season in Charlottesville, Va.

The Panthers are 10-2 at home this season, while the Cavaliers earned their only road win of the season on Jan. 29 at Miami.

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At the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas, QB Russell Wilson dismisses trade rumors involving the Raiders and says he’s “focused on the Steelers”

Russell Wilson passes in the 2nd half

Russell Wilson walked into Camping World Stadium on Saturday, quickly scanning the field for his son. He spotted him on the opposite sideline and made his way across to be with him. Wilson didn’t want to do anything without Future Wilson by his side.

The 36-year-old quarterback, who was added to the Pro Bowl Games as an alternate after Buffalo’s Josh Allen withdrew, is set to become a free agent after one season in Pittsburgh.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully going back to the Steelers and we’ll see what happens with the rest,” Wilson told The Associated Press. “I love it in Pittsburgh.”

However, the Steelers might have different plans.

Team president Art Rooney II mentioned on Monday that the Steelers are considering keeping either Wilson or Justin Fields on a long-term contract. He didn’t say which one, but suggested that age could play a role in the decision.

Fields, who filled in for Wilson when he was injured earlier in the season, is turning 25 next month, while Wilson had already made three Pro Bowls before Fields became a standout at Harrison High School in Georgia.

“I’ve been fortunate to play 13-plus years, and I’ve got a lot more ball left in me,” Wilson said. “I think staying healthy is always the thing. You’ve got to be healthy to play your best, and I feel great right now.”

Wilson avoided questions about possibly joining former Seattle coach Pete Carroll in Las Vegas. The Raiders hired Carroll last month, which sparked rumors that Wilson could follow him.

Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson (NFL)

“Pete’s going to be a great coach, obviously,” Wilson said. “He’s great at what he does. But I’m focused on the Steelers.”

Wilson played in the last 11 games of the 2024 season after recovering from a calf injury. He completed 63.7% of his passes for 2,482 yards, with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said keeping Wilson would be “huge” for the team in 2025.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but those quarterbacks know what they’re doing,” Heyward said. “I just hope we find a solution and a recipe for us to continue to win.”

Raiders tight end Brock Bowers smiled when asked about the possibility of playing with Wilson, but didn’t push the idea of upgrading from quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew. He did, however, ask Wilson about Coach Carroll.

“He said he’s great, he’s awesome and he brings a lot of energy to practices,” Bowers said. “Coach Carroll has won a lot and has a lot of football knowledge, so I’m excited to see what happens.”

No one knows what will happen next for Wilson, but he spoke highly of the Steelers.

“Mike Tomlin is special,” Wilson said. “He’s an amazing individual. He’s one of the greatest of all time.”

Some might say the same about Wilson, who is one of only three quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for at least 2,400 yards in each of their first 13 seasons. He also has more wins (130) in his first 13 seasons than every quarterback except Tom Brady (153), Peyton Manning (150), Ben Roethlisberger (136), and Brett Favre (136). And he’s made 10 Pro Bowls.

“It’s a blessing,” Wilson said. “I remember being here my rookie year and being around guys like Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton and Eli Manning. And I remember how grateful I was. Ten Pro Bowls later, it’s still a blessing.”