Pens Points: Glass Half Full

The Pens collected 5 of possible 8 points from the 4-game road trip out West, which isn't bad, all things considered. Here are the game recaps, with all the news following below.

Three impressions from Rick Tocchet: happy with the effort, happy with Fleury. Power play strangely not mentioned.

Trib recap from Josh Yohe: the Pens largely dominated play but the PP misfired again

PPG recap from Sam Werner: some nights the bounces just don't go your way. That's it in a nutshell.

Recap with all the gifs from Penguins Sauce

*Recommended read: Pens outplay Sharks and despite the loss there are many positives to take away from the road trip. Some very good nuggets here. [HockeyBuzz]

Sid's backhand is a thing of beauty. Not like we didn't know this already, but it's always fun to see. [THN]

Beau Bennett is adjusting to the coaching staff requirement of playing a more physical, battle-style game. He's coming along. If he sticks it out, that third line could be a great thing come playoffs. [Trib]

The defensive game is becoming really solid. If they play like that, they will give themselves a chance to stay in games. [Trib]

Matt Murray earned his second CCM/AHL player of the week honors. [Penguins.com]

Wayne Gretzky doesn't see himself returning to the NHL in an official capacity. He says he's having too much fun as a fan. [The Score]

Evgeny Romasko became the NHL's first-ever Russian referee and did a pretty good job. [THN]

Ontario native is the greatest Leafs killer. John Tavares leads all Air Canada Centre visiting players in scoring since he entered the NHL. [Canadian Press]

Format and qualification process for the 2018 Olympic tournament in PyeongChang is in place. [IIHF]

Some updated rankings: in player power ranking, Carey Price tops the Vezina and Hart conversations. [USA Today]

In team rankings, the Canadiens take top spot, while Devan Dubnyk keys the rise of the Wild. [USA Today]