Pens Points: Sparring with the Sabres

Coming off an less than ideal stretch of games against the New Jersey Devils, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to get back on track with a back-to-back set against the Buffalo Sabres beginning tonight at PPG Paints Arena. In their first two meetings this season, the Penguins are 2-0-0 and have outscored the Sabres 8-2 in those games.

Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

Get ready for puck drop with a new Pens Points...

A rare two day break for the Penguins has provided a much needed breather for them and those of us for cover the team. With the downtime we can evaluate the team and see what we learned about the group along with individual players. [Pensburgh]

During the last offseason of his Penguins tenure, Jim Rutherford made a flurry of moves in an attempt to rework the team. Reacquiring Kasperi Kapanen has paid off in a big way, but the bottom six additions are not panning out. [Pensburgh]

Taking three points against the Devils wasn’t the worst case scenario for the Penguins, but it could have been better. To make up for falling a short, a sweep of the Sabres will help make up for any lost ground. [Trib Live]

It remains to be seen how long the Penguins will be without the services of Evgeni Malkin, but it’s expected to be a longer term injury. It will now fall to his teammates to do the heavy lifting to help push the Penguins back to the playoffs. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Monday and Tuesday marked the first time the Penguins have been off consecutive days in over a month. They used the extra time off and rest and recover as much as possible before the fast paced schedule resumes on Wednesday. [Trib Live]

Some positive news came from the injury front on Tuesday. Forward Jason Zucker skated prior to the team’s full practice, working with skating coach Ty Hennes. Zucker also skated over the weekend as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury. [Trib Live]

Facing down a long recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, forward Zach Aston-Reese put his downtime to good use instead of just lounging on the couch. To avoid falling into unnecessary habits, Aston-Reese went to work with Ben Roethlisberger’s trainer. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

The NHL, along with more than 10 other professional sports leagues from across North America, are teaming up for a COVID-19 vaccination initiative. This program is aimed at sports fans to encourage them to get their COVID shot. [NHL]

According to a report, the NHL has adopted a slew of changes for the draft lottery, with one change taking effect this season. With the new rules, the last place team cannot draft any lower than third and two other changes will come into play in 2022. [The Score]