Pens Points: Happy Half Dozen

No Crosby, no Malkin, no Guentzel, no problem for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-2 opening night victory over the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Newcomers Danton Heinen and Brian Boyle put the Penguins in front in the second period and Dominik Simon scored the eventual in the third to help propel the Penguins to victory. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points is here with all the news from opening night...

Reports from Monday came to fruition on Tuesday when the Penguins and Brian Boyle agreed to a one-year contract. To make room for Boyle, the Penguins placed injured Evgeni Malkin on LTIR as was expected. [Pensburgh]

Along with the Boyle addition, the Penguins also recalled Drew O’Connor and Anthony Angello from the AHL to fill roster holes left by Sidney Crosby and Zach Aston-Reese. [Penguins]

In unexpected roster news, defenseman Mike Matheson was unavailable for the Penguins on Tuesday due to an undisclosed injury. Matheson was replaced in the opening night lineup by Mark Friedman. He is day-to-day according to Mike Sullivan. [Trib Live]

Without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the lineup, the Penguins will need to find offense from other sources. While the offense is searching for answers, the Penguins defense knows they will need to be stingy when the puck drops. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

It wasn’t a super busy offseason for the Penguins but there are some new faces in the black and gold. While there isn’t a whole lot to get used as the season starts, it never hurts to familiarize yourself with what the Penguins will be putting on the ice. [Trib Live]

Everyone has predictions for how the season will play out and the Penguins crew over at The Athletic is no different. While none are picking them to win it all, they aren’t ready to count them out just yet. [The Athletic $$]

After the way last season ended for the Penguins, it makes sense the players are ready to put it behind them. There’s no better way to move than a fresh start and that’s exactly what the Penguins are getting with the new season. [Penguins]

News and notes from around the NHL...

For the NHL, getting its players vaccinated was a major offseason goal and it seems the league has hit its mark. With the new season now underway, the NHL reports less than five players remain unvaccinated. [USA Today]

Pacific Northwest hockey is now officially underway with the Seattle Kraken playing its first game in franchise history last night. Adding Seattle to the NHL mix is coming at the perfect time for both the league and the locale. [Sportsnet]