Pens Points: Home Sweet Home

It’s only for one game, but the Penguins are back home at PPG Paints Arena this evening for a showdown with the Minnesota Wild. Fresh off a three game sweep of their latest western road trip, the Penguins will look to make it four wins in a row before heading back on the road later in the week.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

Get ready for tonight’s game with Pens Points...

Winning games without your best player is no easy task, but the Penguins have done all that in more with Sidney Crosby out of the lineup. Since Crosby went down, the Penguins have been the best team in hockey due to a handful of contributing factors. [Pensburgh]

It’s been quite a start to 2020 for Brandon Tanev with two game winning goals and another clutch game tying goal just in the past week. On top of all that, Tanev’s speed keeps causing fits for defenders and forces them into penalties. [Pensburgh]

Less than a week after being named an All-Star as an injury replacement for Jake Guentzel, Kris Letang has now been named captain of the Metro division team. Letang will lead teammate Tristan Jarry and a host of others from the division in St. Louis. [Trib Live]

No word on the status of Sidney Crosby for tonight’s game against the Wild as the team used Monday to travel back from their three game road trip. Whether he plays tonight or not, his return still remains imminent. [Trib Live]

After struggling in overtimes to begin the season, the Penguins have found more recent success in the extra period by deploying different strategies. Maintaining possession and using line changes to their advantage has helped them snag a few extra points. [Trib Live]

Ty Hennes joined the Penguins organization in 2015 when he was hired as a skills coach for the team. One of his responsibilities is helping injured players shake off rust from their time on the shelf. Safe to say Hennes has been busy this season. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Andrei Vasilevskiy was named to the All-Star team on Monday and he was also crowned the “First Star of the Week” by the NHL. Rangers forward Tony DeAngelo took home “Second Star” honors while Cam Talbot rounded out the group. [NHL]

Edmonton Oilers forward Zack Kassian has been suspended two games by the NHL for his actions over the weekend against the Calgary Flames. Kassian went after Matthew Tkachuk after a par of hard hits laid on the former by the latter. [Copper and Blue]

Since firing Mike Babcock, the Toronto Maple Leafs have rediscovered their game and started climbing back up the standings and into playoff position. If the Leafs hope to keep that good play going, they will need to do so without Morgan Rielly. [Pension Plan Puppets]