Pens Points: Wrapping up March

Enjoy tonight’s game at PPG Paints Arena because it’s the last time you will see the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice until the middle of April. With the NCAA Frozen four set to come to town, the Penguins will head out on an extended road trip beginning Thursday. Before they leave however, they will wrap up their season series with the New York Islanders this evening in the comfort of their own home building.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

A new Pens Points is here to help you open a new week...

With a hat trick on Saturday night, Bryan Rust continues to rack up the goals on the first line alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Since breaking into the league, all Rust has done with the Penguins is proven how worthy he is to them. [Pensburgh]

As the Penguins keep stacking wins they keep climbing closer and closer to the top of the Eastern Division. With 35 games complete, the Penguins sit just four points out of the top spot, and have opened up a 10 point cushion on the playoff cutoff. [Pensburgh]

Not that you did miss the news but in case you did, forwards Mark Jankowski and Brandon Tanev were both placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. Tanev was already out due to injury but now Jankowski is just another body to add to the list. [Pensburgh]

Their stay on the protocol list was extremely brief as both were removed from the list on Sunday, less than 24 hours later. Both Jankowski and Tanev practiced on Sunday but their status for tonight’s game was not definitive. [Trib Live]

In addition to Jankowski and Tanev, Jason Zucker was also a full participant in practice and settled in on the second line. After a few weeks of slowly working his way back from injury, it appears Zucker is good to go once again. [Pensburgh]

In some minor Sunday roster moves, Jordy Bellerive and Josh Currie were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from the taxi squad. These moves likely reflect Jankowski and Tanev being removed from COVID protocol. [Penguins]

It’s been almost four years since the last time Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury were teammates, but their friendship still remains strong as ever. Even now separated by thousands of miles, Crosby and Fleury still stay connected. [Knights on Ice]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Cole Caulfield, NCAA goal scoring leader and 2019 first round draft pick, has signed a three year entry level deal with the Montreal Canadiens. Caulfield saw his college season end on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. [NHL]

After putting their playoff tournament on pause due to a COVID outbreak earlier this year, the NWHL wrapped up its season over the weekend. In a four team playoff, it was the Boston Pride taking home the Isobel Cup as league champion. [ESPN]

On Sunday, the NHL announced another slew of schedule changes, with most of the impact coming in the all-Canada division. With these changes, the season will now conclude on Tuesday, May 11th with the playoffs beginning shortly after. [NHL]