Pens Points: Another Capital Clash

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

They may not be a perfect squad by any stretch of the imagination, but the Penguins have shown positive signs of life in their last handful of games. [PensBurgh]

Five points in two games was enough for Bryan Rust to nab the NHL’s Third Star of the Week. [Penguins]

Pittsburghers apparently cannot get enough hockey, as the Penguins lead the NHL in local TV ratings for the first month of the season, according to figures published by the Sports Business Journal. [Penguins]

After being brought on in the offseason, many questioned the abilities of Mike Matheson and Cody Ceci as competent NHL defensemen. A month into the season, the Pens have relied on the two players and they have since become two of the team’s more stable blue liners. [Trib Live]

Journeyman goaltender Maxime Lagace remains ready at the drop of a hat if his number is called for the Penguins. [Trib Live]

How have Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Kasperi Kapanen Bryan Rust combined to form one of the league’s most dominant lines? [Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Have you ever wondered about which players have the ‘worst’ contracts in the NHL today? Wonder no more. [SI/The Hockey News]

How has the league’s Canadian division handled the recent COVID-19 surges better than their U.S. counterparts? [CBC]

Just two days after being traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Carolina Hurricanes, former Penguins forward Alex Galchenyuk has found a new home with the Toronto Maple Leafs. [Pension Plan Puppets] For those keeping score at home, since June 2019, Galchenyuk has been affiliated with the Penguins, the Minnesota Wild, the Ottawa Senators, the Hurricanes and now the Maple Leafs. Hope he saved some frequent-flyer miles.