Pens Points: Crucial Victory

It wasn’t pretty but the Penguins were able to come from behind and defeat the New York Islanders in a shootout to grab a crucial two points in the standings and push their points streak to four straight. Casey DeSmith played perhaps his best game of the season between the pipes and Derick Brassard atoned for an early mistake to tie the game at a goal apiece in the third period.

In the overtime session, the Penguins had to kill off a 4-on-3 Islanders man advantage before winning the game in the shootout courtesy a fourth round walk-off goal from Jake Guentzel. [Pensburgh]

Celebrate the big win with this morning’s Pens Points...

It’s been a black and white season for many of the Penguins defensemen, with some performing at a high level and other struggling to stay above water. When paired together, some blue line combos have worked better than others a quarter of the way through the 2018-19 season. [Pensburgh]

Barclays Center is the official (for now) home of the New York Islanders as it has been for the past few seasons. As they prepare to return back to Long Island in the coming years, the Islanders will be hosting a slate of games at their old home, the Nassau Coliseum. For Penguins players, returning to the Coliseum brings back many memories. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

There have no doubt been many frustrating moments so far this season, but if the Penguins are to get back on track, leadership in the locker room will be a major factor. One of those leaders is captain Sidney Crosby and while he shares in the frustration with his teammates, he will never publicly call them out for poor play. [Trib Live]

Seattle will officially be getting the NHL’s 32nd franchise following the approval by the Board of Governor’s last week. The new franchise is scheduled to begin play in the 2021-22 season but it’s never too early to start talking about the forthcoming expansion draft and who the Penguins could potentially be protecting from heading to the Pacific Northwest. [The Athletic $$$]

Matt Murray and Matt Cullen both made significant progress towards a return to the lineup by participating in Monday’s morning skate with their fellow teammates. Murray took live shots from his teammates while Cullen practiced in a non-contact jersey but this step means both could return to the lineup very soon. [Trib Live]

While Murray’s return looks imminent and will be very welcome, there appears to be a bit of an issue with the timing and upcoming schedule. The Penguins plan to have Murray back on the ice before Christmas, but eight games in 13 days will limit how much practice time he can get before making a come back. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

If you’re a Penguins fan living in Erie and planning on having a baby before spring then you are in luck. UPMC Hamot hospital located in the city is giving newborn babies some Pens swag to celebrate their “Great Day for a New Baby” program. [Your Erie]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Yesterday was Monday which meant it was time for the NHL to name their “Stars of the Week” for the last week of action. This week’s top star was rookie sensation Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks who registered eight points in three games. Joining Pettersson were goaltender Louis Domingue of Tampa Bay Lightning and Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames. [NHL]

Some real awful news on the injury front for the Arizona Coyotes. Starting goaltender Antti Raanta will be out indefinitely and could very well miss the remainder of the season with a serious lower-body injury. [TSN]