Pens Points: Big Apple Bound

It’s right back on the road for the Penguins as they return to New York City for the second time in less than a week, this time for a meeting with the New York Rangers at the famed Madison Square Garden. This is the first game of a short two game road trip, with a meeting with the Devils on tap for Friday night in Newark.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

Get ready for game night with a brand new Pens Points...

No star is the safe from injuries for the Penguins with Sidney Crosby become the latest struck by the injury bug. After going down on Saturday night against the Blackhawks, Crosby has been ruled out of tonight’s contest in New York. [Pensburgh]

With all the injuries the Penguins have suffered this season, the Penguins have needed to rely upon their depth guys to step up and produce. One of those guys who has been up to the task this season is Jared McCann. [Pensburgh]

There’s no such thing as a bad shot in hockey but not all shots are created equal. This season the Penguins have been putting plenty of pucks on net, but certain players are getting better value for their work than others. [Pensburgh]

It was a big week for hockey in Pittsburgh last week and it had very little to do with the Penguins performance on the ice. It was the women’s game taking center stage with the United States and Canada in town for training camp. [Penguins]

As the power play remains stuck in neutral, the units saw a lot of ice time on Monday to try and work out what ails them. Mike Sullivan also spoke on Matt Murray’s workload and what to expect between the pipes going forward. [Trib Live]

With Crosby out, the already putrid Penguins power play will need someone to take his spot on the top unit. In steps the aforementioned McCann, just adding to his list of duties as the injuries continue to pile up. [Trib Live]

With the power play drought now at 11 straight games without a goal, the Penguins hope a change in approach will break the dry spell. This is where Patric Hornqvist and his style of play could shine by causing some havoc. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

In each game this past week, the Penguins fell behind the opponent and each time by multiple goals. Even with the comeback efforts, that is not a sustainable way to win hockey games but for the time being the Penguins are unconcerned. [Trib Live]

Penguins senior director of new media and former Pensburgh Podcast guest Andi Perelman was recently named a ‘Rising Star 2019’ by The Business Journals. [Penguins]

In some ways, the Penguins-Flyers rivalry has lost some luster in the past few years with the Flyers being replaced by the Capitals. Even if the hatred has tempered a bit, the ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ still remains a premier NHL rivalry. [SB Nation]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Monday meant we were due for a fresh set of “3 Stars of the Week” and they arrived right on time. This week, goaltender Anders Nilsson of the Senators led the pack with Auston Matthews and Cale Makar coming in second and third respectively. [NHL]

Less than 48 hours after making a slew a controversial remarks targeting immigrants, legendary hockey broadcaster Don Cherry has been fired from Sportsnet and the ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ broadcast team. [Sportsnet]

Connor McDavid recorded his 400th career point over the weekend, making him just the eighth player in history to hit the milestone before age 23. That puts him in a class with the likes of Gretzky, Lemieux, Crosby, and Yzerman. [Yahoo! Sports]