Pens Points: That Winning Feeling

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Pittsburgh Penguins notched their first victory of the season with a 4-3 shootout win over the rival Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena. Evan Rodrigues, Colton Sceviour, and Marcus Pettersson all scored their first goal of the year before Jake Guentzel and Casey DeSmith sealed the two points in the shootout. [Pensburgh]

Enjoy that winning feeling with a Monday edition of Pens Points...

One thing that was apparent in Sunday’s victory was the spark provided by backup netminder Casey DeSmith. Although he allowed three goals in regulation, he stood tall and shut down all four Capitals shooters in the shootout. [NHL]

Mike Matheson has endured a rough start to his Penguins career and it will be a while before he can get back on the ice and right the ship. Head coach Mike Sullivan announced after the game that Matheson will be out longer term with an upper body injury. [Pensburgh]

ICYMI from Saturday, forward Jared McCann was fined $10,000 for elbowing Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim on Friday night. That is the maximum fine allowed under the NHL collective bargaining agreement. [Pensburgh]

More news from Saturday, with immigration issues resolved and quarantine time served, Kasperi Kapanen could join his new teammates on the ice for the first time. When Kapanen will see game action remains up in the air at this time. [Pensburgh]

Without the ability to host fans at PPG Paints Arena, the Penguins are bringing the in-arena experience right to the fans at home. Through the Penguins mobile app, fans can participate in interactive content normally experience at the game. [Penguins]

One issue that plagued the Penguins against the Flyers in the opening two games was continual mistakes by the blue line. While those issues were again present on Sunday, they did seem to show signs of progress and it showed in the final score. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...

After scoring a pair of goals in the Winnipeg Jets season opener, forward Patrik Laine was unable to go in the team’s next game following a COVID postponement. Laine’s availability in the coming days remains up in the air until more is known. [NHL]

Penguins fans became all too familiar with Jeff Petry this past summer when he killed them repeatedly in their qualifying matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. None of what Petry did could have been possible without the incompetence of the Edmonton Oilers. [Eyes on the Prize]