Welcome to our Penguins Live Wire, a round-the-clock feature that offers news that's fast, friendly to use and fun. Older Live Wire updates can be found here.
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FANS SOON?
5 p.m. Monday: Deputy commissioner Bill Daly mentioned that "it's possible" that the Penguins could have fans in the building soon, along with the Predators and Columbus. The Panthers, Stars, Coyotes, and Blues will already have limited fans to start the season.
The Penguins already announced earlier in the day that they will not have fans at home games for at least the month of January. -- Taylor
SCEVIOUR, PETTERSSON,
MCCANN TALK
4:55 p.m. Monday: Select players spoke after Monday's practice, beginning with Colton Sceviour:
Followed by Marcus Pettersson:
And finally, Jared McCann:
SIGHTS, SOUNDS
3:15 p.m. Monday: Here is video of the Penguins' practice on Monday, courtesy of the team. -- Taylor
ASTON-REESE SKATES
1:05 p.m. Monday: Zach Aston-Reese made his first appearance at training camp, joining the taxi squad players in a separate skate after practice. He's in the white jersey in this video. -- Molinari
ROSTER, TAXI SQUAD FINALIZED
12:53 p.m. Monday: The Penguins' season-opening roster and taxi squad has been finalized. There are no surprises for the 23-man roster, it's the same group who has been practicing regularly in camp, plus Kasperi Kapanen.
The taxi squad will be forwards Anthony Angello, Frederick Gaudreau, Drew O'Connor, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and goaltenders Alex D'Orio and Max Lagace. The biggest surprise here is that the Penguins are choosing to carry two goaltenders, especially since Jim Rutherford said prior to camp that the plan was for D'Orio to go to Wheeling after camp.
Forwards Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare have both been sent back to their QMJHL teams.
Zach Aston-Reese, who is still recovering from surgery, and Zach Trotman, Sam Miletic, and Josh Maniscalco, who missed practice Sunday and Monday, "will be appropriately assigned on Tuesday when rosters are submitted to the NHL."
The taxi squad makeup could then conceivably still change once any of those players are eligible to be assigned anywhere. -- Taylor
POST-PRACTICE AVAILABILITY
12:44 p.m. Monday: A couple of players will speak following practice. I'll keep you posted below. -- Taylor
• Sceviour on missing fans for at least the month of January: "I played here as a visitor, seeing how loud and passionate this building can get."
• Sceviour said that the mindset for the penalty kill is to play with the same speed the rest of the roster plays with.
• Sceviour on only taking six penalty minutes last year: "There's a fine line between not taking penalties and playing soft."
PLAYERS CLEAR WAIVERS
12:30 p.m. Monday: The five players put on waivers yesterday -- forwards Josh Currie and Frederick Gaudreau, defensemen Zach Trotman and Kevin Czuczman, and goaltender Max Lagace -- all cleared and can now be assigned to either Wilkes-Barre or the taxi squad. -- Taylor
PRACTICE IS UNDERWAY
11:00 a.m. Monday: I'll keep you posted on today's practice updates below. -- Molinari
• The Penguins' workout began precisely at 11 with a 3-on-3 drill that featured Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel on the same unit. Really doesn't seem fair.
• Tristan Jarry was shaken up by a shot from Sam Lafferty, but did not leave the ice.
• Crosby just executed a shot with his stick between his legs. Must think he's Jared McCann or something.
• Twenty-five minutes into practice, still no line rushes by the Penguins.
• Lafferty just lost an edge and slammed hard into the boards. He left the ice slowly, but rather than adjourning to the locker room, stayed on the bench and had his skate tended to. He is still participating in practice.
• Personnel combinations:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rodrigues
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
McCann-Jankowski-Tanev
Lafferty-Blueger-Sceviour
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Marino
Pettersson-Ceci
Riikola-Ruhwedel
• Read into this what you will, but 21 of the 22 players involved in the practice are on one-way contracts. (The exception is John Marino, who still is on his entry-level deal.) Kasperi Kapanen, who is serving his coronavirus quarantine, also has a one-way, so it seems like there's a pretty good chance those guys will form the 23-man roster once Kapanen is cleared to play.
• The players have left the ice and adjourned to the locker room. Special-teams work is expected to begin in about 10 minutes.
• Penguins have returned to the ice, with ten minutes put on the scoreboard clock.
• Power play units:
Letang-Malkin
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Marino-Pettersson
Zucker-Rodrigues-McCann
• Practice is over after a power-play goal was scored with one second showing on the clock.
PORTER HIRED IN
WILKES-BARRE
10:55 a.m. Monday: Former Penguins center Kevin Porter has been hired as an assistant coach for their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
Porter, 34, appeared in 43 games with the Penguins from 2015-17, as well as 85 with Wilkes-Barre over the course of a 12-year pro career. -- Molinari
NO FANS IN JANUARY
10:47 a.m. Monday: To no one's surprise, the Penguins announced that no fans will be allowed to attend the team's four home games in January.
A press release from the club noted that state and local regulations cap attendance at indoor events at 500, a total that includes players, coaches, media members and others who work at PPG Paints Arena during games. Any remaining spots will be given to friends and family of players and other members of the organization. -- Molinari
PRACTICE AT 11
10:45 a.m. Monday: The Penguins, originally scheduled to be off today, will practice at 11 a.m., with a scrimmage focused on special-team play following the workout. It presumably is intended to make up for one the Penguins were forced to cancel Saturday because of concerns about coronavirus exposure. -- Molinari
JANKOWSKI, LAFFERTY,
O'CONNOR SPEAK
10:05 p.m. Sunday: A select group of players spoke after Sunday's scrimmage, beginning with Mark Jankowski:
Followed by Sam Lafferty:
And finally Drew O'Connor:
SCRIMMAGE HIGHLIGHTS
10 p.m. Sunday: Miss the scrimmage? Here are the highlights. -- Taylor
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
8 p.m. Sunday: I'll keep you posted below as select players speak after the scrimmage. -- Taylor
• Lafferty says that he hasn't gotten a haircut since August. "I don't have any plans to cut it. I kind of like it."
• Lafferty on today's scrimmage: "It was really fun to be able to actually put on the real jerseys and go out there. It felt like a real game. Emotions are going to be a little higher. ... We're just looking forward to getting started and playing more games."
• O'Connor on his first professional season having unusual circumstances due to coronavirus: "It's been a challenge for everybody, but especially a young guy who hasn't played in any games yet. ... I think (being loaned to a team in Norway) was helpful for me to get some pro games under by belt before coming to camp here."
• O'Connor on his comfort level in this camp: "I think there's always the things you can be doing better and improving. I'm feeling a little more comfortable every day out there. ... I think I'm trying to improve every day."
• Reirden on switching up the defense pairings and putting Matheson and Marino together: "I think that's something that we took a look at a couple of days ago to with Matheson and Marino together, it's still early in this camp process and trying to find situations that give us the best chance to find success this season. ... I think Matheson has done some good things."
SCRIMMAGE TIME
6:05 p.m. Sunday: Scrimmage updates will go below. -- Molinari
• Team Black lineup:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rodrigues
McCann - Jankowski - Tanev
Poulin - Gaudreau - Angello
Zohorna
Matheson - Marino
Pettersson - Ceci
Joseph - Czuczman
DeSmith
Lagace
• Team Gold lines:
Zucker - Malkin - Rust
Lafferty - Blueger - Sceviour
O'Connor - Currie - Legare
Nolan
Dumoulin - Letang
Riikola - Ruhwedel
Lee
Jarry
D'Orio
• The only players on the camp roster not participating in today's scrimmage are Zach Trotman, Josh Maniscalco, and Sam Miletic.
• Sam Lafferty stakes Gold to a 1-0 lead by beating Casey DeSmith on a breakaway at 6:20 of the opening period.
• After 14-plus minutes, this looks a lot like a training-camp scrimmage, with better-than-usual lighting.
• Scrimmage switches to a little scheduled 3-on-3, and Bryan Rust misses the net on a breakaway. So much for his reputation for scoring in high-stakes games.
• Jason Zucker beats DeSmith from the right hash during a 3-on-3 with 28.1 seconds left in the first to put Gold up, 2-0. Teddy Blueger and Brian Dumoulin get assists.
• Gold goes into the first intermission, which features some shootout competition, with a 2-0 lead.
• Second period is underway.
• DeSmith with a nice stop on Nathan Legare from the left side.
• Not sure what this says about the scrimmage, but Frederick Gaudreau has been pretty visible almost every time he's gone over the boards.
• Mike Matheson beats Tristan Jarry with a well-placed, high shot from near the left hash to cut Gold's lead to 2-1.
• Brandon Tanev and Mark Jankowski got assists on the Matheson goal.
• And we're back in the scheduled 3-on-3 portion of our program.
• Second period is over. Gold leads, 2-1.
• Jarry (Gold) and DeSmith (Black) are still in goal as the third period begins.
• Mark Jankowski ties the scrimmage, 2-2, by beating Jarry on the glove side from high in the right circle at 6:52 of the third. Cody Ceci and P.O. Joseph pick up the assists.
• Kris Letang restores the Gold advantage almost immediately, taking a feed from Evgeni Malkin and beating DeSmith from inside the left circle at 10:20 of the third. Bryan Rust gets the second assist.
• The stars are coming out as the scrimmage winds down. Sidney Crosby throws a shot past Jarry from above the right hash at 11:21 to re-tie the game, 3-3.
• It seems like some of these high-profile guys are starting to take this personally. Malkin just threw a backhander by DeSmith to put Gold back in front yet again, 4-3.
• Black replaces DeSmith with an extra attacker with 1:59 left in the scrimmage.
• Rust scores into the empty net with 1:02 to go to put Gold up, 5-3.
• Rust's empty-netter becomes the game-winner as Jankowski raps a close-range shot past Jarry with 14.1 seconds to play. Gold holds on for a 5-4 victory.
FIVE PLAYERS
GO ON WAIVERS
12:30 p.m. Sunday: The Penguins put forwards Josh Currie and Frederick Gaudreau, defensemen Zach Trotman and Kevin Czuczman, and goaltender Max Lagace on waivers.
For a player to be on the taxi squad, they still have to go on waivers to be removed from the active roster, so this isn't surprising. The deadline to put a player on waivers to have them off the active roster before season-opening rosters are due is Monday at noon. -- Taylor
SULLIVAN SPEAKING NOW
11 a.m. Sunday: Mike Sullivan is about to speak. I'll keep you posted below. -- Taylor
• Sullivan reiterates that yesterday's decision to cancel practice was made out of an "abundance of caution." Teams are not permitted to say if an absence during training camp is injury-related or COVID-related, so Sullivan urged people not to speculate about the reason if a player is absent from practice.
• Sullivan says no decision has been made yet on which players will be on the taxi squad.
• Kasperi Kapanen arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday and took his first COVID test today, he's now fulfilling his mandatory quarantine.
• Tonight's 6 p.m. scrimmage will be three 18-minute periods with 15-minute intermissions. Sullivan said the reason for 18-minute periods was that they don't have full rosters on both sides, so 18-minute periods are closer to the workload of an actual game. The lack of full rosters isn't necessarily a result of any absences, since they didn't have four lines per team to begin with.
• There will be some three-on-three work during the scrimmage.
PENGUINS WILL STILL
HOLD SCRIMMAGE SUNDAY
8:00 a.m. Sunday: The Penguins, as planned, will conduct an intra-squad scrimmage this evening at PPG Paints Arena.
It will begin at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than initially scheduled. There was no explanation for the change in starting time.
The team's plans for Sunday had been uncertain after the Penguins canceled practice Saturday because of concerns about possible COVID-19 exposure.
The Penguins are scheduled to open the 2020-21 season with games in Philadelphia Wednesday and Friday. -- Molinari
PENGUINS TO ANNOUNCE
PLANS SUNDAY MORNING
8:30 p.m. Saturday: The Penguins, who canceled Saturday's practice because of concerns about possible exposure to COVID-19, have informed reporters that they will announce their plans for Sunday at 8 a.m.
The team has been scheduled to conduct a game-day simulation Sunday, culminating in a scrimmage at PPG Paints Arena in the evening. It is not known if that is still the plan, but the fact that the email from the Penguins said the schedule announcement Sunday morning "will allow adequate time and consideration for media preparations" suggests that some sort of team activity will take place. -- Molinari
SUNDAY SCRIMMAGE STILL ON
10:30 a.m. Saturday: Jim Rutherford says the Penguins still intend to conduct the game-simulation scheduled for Sunday, even though team activities Saturday were called off because of a possible exposure to COVID-19.
"We're hoping to scrimmage tomorrow," he said.
That plan is subject to change, obviously, if developments warrant. The decision to call off today's workout was made public only about 2 1/2 hours before practice was scheduled to begin.
Rutherford, citing league guidelines, declined to say whether the day's activities were scrapped because a player, coach or staff member had received a positive test result.
"We don't disclose that," he said. "We have to follow the protocol of the league."
Rutherford was unable to shed much light on other aspects of the cancelation -- "There's not much to say at this point," he said -- including any possible impact it could have on the Penguins' regular-season opener Wednesday at Philadelphia.
However, if they did not have anyone diagnosed with the coronavirus, there probably is no reason that Sunday -- and the days that follow -- won't be able to proceed as previously planned.
One change that might be considered, though, would be to practice on Monday, which was scheduled to be a day off. Whether not practicing today qualifies as an "off day" for purposes of satisfying the NHL's labor deal wasn't immediately clear. -- Molinari
SATURDAY'S PRACTICE
CANCELED
9:35 a.m. Saturday: The Penguins announced that Saturday's practice, scrimmage, and media availabilities have been canceled "out of an abundance of caution due to potential exposure of COVID-19."
There is no update yet on how this will affect the rest of the training camp schedule. The Penguins are currently scheduled to have an evening scrimmage on Sunday. -- Taylor
RUST, DUMOULIN, DESMITH
TALK AFTER PRACTICE
3:30 p.m. Friday: Three more players spoke with the media on Friday, starting with Bryan Rust:
Followed by Brian Dumoulin:
And finally, Casey DeSmith:
SIGHTS, SOUNDS
3:25 p.m. Friday: Here are some clips from Friday's camp session, courtesy of the Penguins. -- Taylor
EVAN SCHALL / PENGUINS
Brian Dumoulin
Evan Schall / Penguins
Mike Sullivan and Mike Vellucci.
LANGE OPTS OUT
OF START OF SEASON
2:45 p.m. Friday: Mike Lange will not be on the Penguins' radio broadcast to start the season. The team announced on Friday that Lange opted to not start the season "out of an abundance of caution during the pandemic."
'I've decided to opt out of the start of the season after huddling with doctors about the course of COVID-19," said Lange, who will turn 73 in March. "They've suggested it probably is best to receive the vaccinations before going back in the booth."
Josh Getzoff and Phil Bourque will handle the radio broadcast, but Lange is expected to occasionally join by phone during intermissions and other radio programming.
"I'm very much appreciative that the Penguins hierarchy gave me this chance to get everything in order," Lange said in a statement.
"We all know the broadcasts will be in more-than-capable hands. Josh Getzoff has proven he is an NHL broadcaster in his own right and Phil Bourque is a rock in the booth. They are, without a doubt, knowledgeable, entertaining and just fun to hear on the airwaves.
"And I'm sure you all join in me in thanking the NHL and the Penguins players, coaches and staff for working so hard to bring hockey back this year. It has been a challenging effort and we all should salute them for their dedication in making it possible.
"Meanwhile … Keep Smilin' Like a Butcher's Dog! See ya soon." -- Taylor
KAPANEN ARRIVING TOMORROW
2:20 p.m. Friday: Mike Sullivan says that Kasperi Kapanen is scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh Saturday, and that going through the league's COVID protocol will be "about an eight-day process." -- Taylor
PLAYERS SPEAKING NEXT
1 p.m. Friday: Brian Dumoulin, Bryan Rust, and Casey DeSmith will speak shortly, followed by Mike Sullivan. I'll keep you posted below. -- Taylor
• The Stars canceled practice after six players and two staff members tested positive for coronavirus. The Blue Jackets also held multiple players out of practice due to coronavirus concerns. Rust, when asked about the reality that the Penguins could deal with a similar situation during the year, said "We have to expect that that's going to happen and just take things as they come."
• Rust said that when his first child is born in May, he might have "a little more dad strength."
• Dumoulin on the new pairing of Matheson and Ceci: "They're mobile, they defend hard, and they're good players. ... I look forward to getting to know them a lot better."
• DeSmith on how often he has to play games to feel sharp: "I don't think there's a specific number, I remember when I was up here two years ago I didn't play for a two-week stretch, and then I played against Buffalo and got a shutout in the first game back. ... I think practice is where I get most of my preparation."
INTRA-SQUAD
SCRIMMAGE TIME
11:55 a.m. Friday: Updates from today's scrimmage will be below. -- Molinari
• It'll be Black vs. Gold -- a couple of colors that don't like each others -- in the scrimmage that will follow some special-teams work that just began.
• Personnel combinations for the scrimmage:
BLACK
Guentzel-Crosby-Rodrigues
McCann-Jankowski-Lafferty
Poulin-Gaudreau-Angello
Zahorna
Pettersson-Marino
Matheson-Ceci
Joseph-Maniscalco
DeSmith
Lagace
GOLD
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
Tanev-Blueger-Sceviour
O'Connor-Currie-Legare
Nolan
Dumoulin-Letang
Riikola-Ruhwedel
Lee-Trotman
Jarry
D'Orio
• Midway through the first period, no score. But no TV timeouts, either.
• Drew O'Connor puts a puck past Casey DeSmith from close range for a 1-0 Gold lead.
• First period ends with Gold up, 1-0. Hoping for some Human Bowling during the intermission.
• Brief intermission, and new goalies enter the game for both squads. Lagace for Black, D'Orio for Gold.
• Sam Lafferty fails to convert a close-in chance that could have tied the game.
• Evan Rodrigues pulls Black even, 1-1, by beating D'Orio from the slot.
• Jared McCann gets the scrimmage-winner with 7.4 seconds to play, beating D'Orio with a shot McCann took after putting his stick between his legs. The final 90 seconds were full of scoring chances at both ends of the ice.
Oh, you fancy, @jaredmccann19. pic.twitter.com/rIrz54mLl3
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 8, 2021
FRIDAY'S PRACTICE
10:40 a.m. Friday: Goalie Tristan Jarry is the first player on the ice for the Penguins' 11 a.m. workout at PPG Paints Arena. He was followed by fellow goalie Casey DeSmith and forward Sam Lafferty. Updates from the session will be below. -- Molinari
• Here are the personnel combinations deployed by Mike Sullivan today:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Evan Rodrigues
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Jared McCann-Mark Jankowski-Sam Lafferty
Brandon Tanev-Teddy Blueger-Colton Sceviour
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-John Marino
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Juuso Riikola-Chad Ruhwedel
• Players leave the ice and head for the dressing room, presumably to prepare for the scrimmage that's scheduled to begin at noon.
PENGUINS BACK
ON ICE TODAY
1 a.m. Friday: After having a day off on Thursday, the Penguins will be back at practice today. The scrimmage at the end of practice is expected to be streamed again, we'll post the link here when the Penguins release that information. Dave Molinari will be back at PPG Paints Arena for us today. -- Taylor
KAPANEN CLEARED
TO TRAVEL FRIDAY
9:40 a.m. Thursday: Kasperi Kapanen had his immigration hearing in Finland today and has been cleared to travel to Pittsburgh, Jim Rutherford said.
"He just had it," Rutherford said. "He just got approved."
He added that Kapanen is expected to arrive here Friday.
Because of the pandemic, Kapanen will have to serve a seven-day quarantine after reaching Pittsburgh, during which time Rutherford said "I don't believe" he will be allowed to skate.
Nonetheless, Rutherford suggested that Kapanen will need only "a couple of days" of practice before being added to the lineup, where he is expected to play on the No. 1 line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel.
Under that scenario, Rutherford said that a projection that Kapanen would miss the first three games of the regular season -- Jan. 13 and 15 in Philadelphia and Jan. 17 at home against Washington -- "is a fair ballpark (estimate)." -- Dave Molinari