Pens Points: Slamming the Door

As the New York Rangers became increasingly desperate on Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry proved time and time again he was ready for whatever was thrown his way. While Jake Guentzel, Teddy Blueger, Kasperi Kapanen, and Sidney Crosby all recorded goals in the 4-2 victory, it was Jarry who came up with the biggest moment of the night, stonewalling Pavel Buchnevich in the dying moments to preserve the Penguins lead and ultimately deliver them the win. [Pensburgh]

Your midweek Pens Points is here with the latest headlines...

Jared McCann did not play on Tuesday night and his status remains day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. No one claimed forward Colton Sceviour off waivers, leaving general manager Ron Hextall with some roster decisions to make. [Pensburgh]

With McCann out, the door opens for Evan Rodrigues to make a serious impact and possibly cement his spot in the lineup. This is a huge opportunity to Rodrigues and one the Penguins are desperately hoping he takes advantage of. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

As a result of his injury, McCann has been sent to injured reserve retroactive to Sunday. In turn, defenseman Juuso Riikola has been activated from injured reserve where he has been since going down to injury back on January 19th. [Trib Live]

One goal of the Penguins new management group is rebuilding the hockey operations department. That work started today with the hiring of Katerina Wu as a data scientist who will create new data and stats to help evaluate player performance. [Penguins]

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are both will into the latter half of their respective careers which means the Stanley Cup window for this era is closing in a hurry. It’s to the point now where it’s fair to wonder if this core has another run left in them. [NBC Sports]

With various unknowns still up in the air, notably the pandemic and the new management team, this trade deadline could look different than others in the past. Who, if anyone, the Penguins will target at the deadline remains to be seen. [The Athletic $$]

News and notes from around the NHL...

This NHL season is unlike anything we have seen before, including the players. Working under strict protocols that limit what they can do off the ice, players are opening up about the mental health toll this season is taking on them. [ESPN]

Whether its winning the Stanley Cup, just making the playoffs, or simply showing improvement from the year before, every team has expectations for each season. Roughly halfway through the season and some teams aren’t meeting the mark. [Sportsnet]

This season marks the final season of the American television rights deal between the NHL and NBC Sports. For the first time since the season cancelling lockout in 2004-05, the NHL rights are up for grabs and it appears ESPN is ready to sign the papers. [Sportsnet]