Pens Points: On The Brink

For those that missed it, the NHL has announced the start time for Game 4 of the Penguins-Canadiens series. It will be held on August 7 at 4p ET. The game can be seen locally on AT&T SportsNet, nationally on NBC Sports Network, and will be carried on the team’s radio flagship station, 105.9 The X, and the Penguins Radio Network. And with that...

Here are your Pens Points for this Thursday morning...

The Penguins and Montreal Canadiens met for Game 3 of their qualifying matchup last night, with both teams looking to take a 2-1 series lead. Everything was going Pittsburgh’s way, with the team getting out to a 3-1 lead. And after that, the Penguins collapsed and, in impressive fashion, lost the game 4-3. Montreal takes a 2-1 series lead and can eliminate the Penguins tomorrow night. [Recap]

Evgeni Malkin was said to be other-worldly in the lead up to the play-in series. He looked like a different player in the scrimmages. Now, it appears the Penguins are missing his power as part of the team’s 1-2 punch. [Post-Gazette]

The Penguins see a bright, bright future ahead for John Marino, as the playoffs have done nothing but boost his stock even more. [Post-Gazette]

Perhaps one of the bigger disappointments of the series thus far has been the production of the Marleau—McCann—Hornqvist line. [Trib Live]

Sidney Crosby has an all-star knack for scoring the first goal of playoff games. And it’s probably one of the main reasons the Penguins are where they are right now. [Trib Live]

The Pens have adjusted their play to the trend of increased penalties during these playoffs. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...

The Jake Muzzin injury has highlighted a problem with NHL referees: why aren't they calling cross-checking penalties? [The Hockey News]

Ryan Reaves is a firm believer that kneeling is necessary to start having the appropriate conversations about race in the NHL. [Sportsnet]