Pens Points: The Final Stretch

Ten games remain in the 2017-2018 regular season for the Penguins and their final stretch run kicks off tonight in Brooklyn as the Pens take on the New York Islanders at Barclays Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

Prepare for tonight’s game with this morning’s edition of Pens Points...

Monday brought a pair of player moves for the Penguins up front and in goal:

Less than a week after being sent down to the AHL, forward Josh Jooris is back with the big club and will fill the hole left by Carter Rowney who is out “longer term” according to head coach Mike Sullivan. [Penguins]

Jooris was brought over from the Hurricanes on trade deadline day and made his Penguins debut on March 10th against the Maple Leafs. At this moment, Jooris may simply be an injury replacement but his long term goals are for a long term spot on the NHL roster. [Trib Live]

Matt Murray returned to regular practice over the weekend and could play return to game action tonight. That means a goalie had to be sent down to make room for Murray on the active roster. To get him as much playing time as possible, Tristan Jarry was demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Casey DeSmith will remain with the big club as the backup to Murray. [Penguins]

With Murray back in the fold, that is one box the Penguins can check off on their pre-playoff to do list. Now in the final stretch of the season, the Penguins are running out of time to complete the rest of the list before the playoffs get underway. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

One major focus the Pens will have over this final ten game stretch will be playing the “right way” to form good habits in preparation for the playoffs. The division title is still well within their grasp but the team knows a solid all around game will be what carries them to a third straight Stanley Cup. [Trib Live]

Questions have surrounded Daniel Sprong all season but we are still waiting for a lot of answers regarding the young forward who has spent the majority of this season in the AHL. There are still great concerns within the organization about his defensive play and as it stands right now, don’t expect to see Sprong playing a major role in the NHL in the near future. [Pensburgh]

The Penguins have been off the past four days and during that time the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was hosting games at PPG Paints Arena. During Saturday’s action, many players had the opportunity to attend the double header and enjoy a fun shootaround after the action had come to a close. [Trib Live]

A few weeks ago, we featured a story in “Pens Points” about a Penguins’ fan from Iceland who had the chance to attend her first game in person at PPG Paints Arena. Well today we bring you the story of a fan from Australia who made the trek to the Steel City all the way from The Land Down Under to see his favorite team in person. [Penguins]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Team USA’s leading scorer from the 2018 Winter Olympics made his NHL debut on Monday night and scored his first career goal in the process. Ryan Donato signed his first pro contract with the Boston Bruins after his college season ended over the weekend and came out guns blaring in his debut. [Boston.com]

The NHL General Managers meetings are officially underway and one key focus is changing the goaltender interference rule or at least bring some clarity to the process. [NBC Sports]

Larry Kwong, the first Asian-American player in NHL history, passed away at the age of 94 on Monday in Calgary. [New York Times]