• Kris Letang was scratched because of a lower-body injury sustained in the game Saturday in Elmont, N.Y., Mike Sullivan disclosed after this game tonight. He added that he wasn't yet able to put forth a timeline for Letang's return. I can't know if this will be relevant toward that, but Nate Clurman, who made his NHL debut in Letang's absence, described Letang's status as having been "50/50" to play in this game as of late Saturday night, when he was advised by management that his parents could fly here from Vail, Colo. (Which they did.) That'd strongly suggest, of course, that Letang's injury wouldn't be serious. We'll see.
• It's got to give someone up high some pause that Clurman, a sorely needed right shot on defense, performed as well as he did, with a 77.78% Corsi For percentage that was best among any skater on either team. If everyone hurt at the NHL level was suddenly available, Clurman would still represent only the third right shot on the depth chart.
• Two significant scoring changes were made after the game: Evgeni Malkin was credited with the Penguins' third goal that'd been initially awarded to Phil Tomasino, the puck apparently glancing off Malkin's knee before another friendly carom. And Bo Horvat was credited with the Islanders' second goal instead of Anders Lee.
• Mike Sullivan's striking assessment of Drew O'Connor's evening: "His best game in two months." O'Connor's gone 32 games without a goal, but he registered two shots, seven shot attempts and, maybe most important, a high level of visibility. "If he keeps playing like that," Sullivan said, "he'll score."
• No one brought this up, so I will: Ryan Graves was terrific.
• Anyone else notice Erik Karlsson killing penalties? He was on the ice for a team-high 2:42 short-handed. Had a nice night overall defensively, in fact, highlighted by a team-high five blocks.
• Anthony Beauvillier had one point -- a goal -- in his previous 11 games while totaling five shots in that span. In this game, he had a goal and a team-high six shots. Almost as if those things are related.
• The Monday practice had been listed as a TBD on the team's schedule, and it was canceled after this victory.
• Not to be ignored: The crowd of 18,357 represented the Penguins' third sellout of the season and second in a row. And they came to play, too, vocal from the drop of the puck.
• Awesome to see Clint Hurdle was part of that packed house.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Dejan Kovacevic
9:20 am - 12.30.2024UptownLoose Pucks: Was Letang '50/50?'
• Kris Letang was scratched because of a lower-body injury sustained in the game Saturday in Elmont, N.Y., Mike Sullivan disclosed after this game tonight. He added that he wasn't yet able to put forth a timeline for Letang's return. I can't know if this will be relevant toward that, but Nate Clurman, who made his NHL debut in Letang's absence, described Letang's status as having been "50/50" to play in this game as of late Saturday night, when he was advised by management that his parents could fly here from Vail, Colo. (Which they did.) That'd strongly suggest, of course, that Letang's injury wouldn't be serious. We'll see.
• It's got to give someone up high some pause that Clurman, a sorely needed right shot on defense, performed as well as he did, with a 77.78% Corsi For percentage that was best among any skater on either team. If everyone hurt at the NHL level was suddenly available, Clurman would still represent only the third right shot on the depth chart.
• Two significant scoring changes were made after the game: Evgeni Malkin was credited with the Penguins' third goal that'd been initially awarded to Phil Tomasino, the puck apparently glancing off Malkin's knee before another friendly carom. And Bo Horvat was credited with the Islanders' second goal instead of Anders Lee.
• Mike Sullivan's striking assessment of Drew O'Connor's evening: "His best game in two months." O'Connor's gone 32 games without a goal, but he registered two shots, seven shot attempts and, maybe most important, a high level of visibility. "If he keeps playing like that," Sullivan said, "he'll score."
• No one brought this up, so I will: Ryan Graves was terrific.
• Anyone else notice Erik Karlsson killing penalties? He was on the ice for a team-high 2:42 short-handed. Had a nice night overall defensively, in fact, highlighted by a team-high five blocks.
• Anthony Beauvillier had one point -- a goal -- in his previous 11 games while totaling five shots in that span. In this game, he had a goal and a team-high six shots. Almost as if those things are related.
• The Monday practice had been listed as a TBD on the team's schedule, and it was canceled after this victory.
• Not to be ignored: The crowd of 18,357 represented the Penguins' third sellout of the season and second in a row. And they came to play, too, vocal from the drop of the puck.
• Awesome to see Clint Hurdle was part of that packed house.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!