Pens Points: Well-Oiled Machine

For the first time in a month, the Penguins won back-to-back games with a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. It was a comeback effort from the Pens who trailed 1-0 after the first period of play but battled back to score three unanswered goals. Bryan Rust notched his 16th goal of the season with a shorthanded tally then Teddy Blueger put home the eventual game winner less than four minutes later. Matt Murray put on another dazzling performance in goal, stopping 38 shots, including a Connor McDavid penalty shot with the Pens in front 2-1 in the second period. [Pensburgh]

Feel the love with this Valentine's Day edition of Pens Points...

Evgeni Malkin did not partake in tonight’s contest against the Oilers due to his one game suspension stemming from his actions on Monday night in Philadelphia. His stick swipe at Michael Raffl was just another bullet point on what has been a truly bizarre season for the Russian super star. [Pensburgh]

There is no sense in complaining too much about Malkin’s one-game suspension, his act was egregious and could have cause significant harm to Raffl. Regardless of what happened leading up to the incident, the Penguins have accepted the fact Malkin will not be playing against the Oilers. [Trib Live]

When the Penguins and Oilers are scheduled to face-off, most of the pregame hype will surround the matchup of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. Both superstars in their own right, Crosby and McDavid have a history of playing their best when going up against one another. [Trib Live]

For well over a decade at this point, Crosby has captured the eye of the hockey world with his generational talents. You can count Ken Hitchcock as one of those guys who has been taken aback by the skill of Crosby, and he’s hoping his young superstar can learn from one of the best to ever take the ice. [Pensburgh]

Without Olli Maatta for at least of month, the Penguins will have to look down the roster for reinforcements and hope they can fill the cracks in an already leaky blue line. With Justin Schultz still on the mend for at least one more game, the Penguins will turn to Chad Ruhwedel to help the cause. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

With the NHL Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers less than 10 days away, both Matt Murray and Casey DeSmith have revealed their one of a kind goalie masks to celebrate the event. Given that the game is being played at a football stadium, it only made sense for the pair to honor the local football team in the designs. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Every season there seems to be one rookie who comes in and takes the league by storm. Sometimes that rookie is a big name like Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews, but other times it’s an under the radar guy like Elias Pettersson who shows up and dominates the headlines. [ESPN]

Ready or not, the NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching and some teams have already jumped on the trade train. Prepare yourself for these final hectic days by knowing which teams will be looking to buy and which will be looking to sell before the deadline passes. [Sportsnet]