Pens Points: Avalanche Avoided

Coming off three straight losses, not many were hopeful the Pittsburgh Penguins were going to fare well with the undefeated Colorado Avalanche coming to town. That feeling of impending doom was wiped away however when the Penguins posted their best 60 minute performance of the season in a 4-0 victory. Reilly Smith scored a pair of goals and Lars Eller and Sidney Crosby potted some insurance to backup a stellar Tristan Jarry performance to get back in the win column. [Pensburgh]

Pens Points...

There were many new faces in the Penguins lineup to begin this season and its fair to say it has been in mixed bag in how they have performed so far. [Pensburgh]

Radim Zohorna was recalled by the Penguins following a salary cap related demotion on Wednesday and joining Big Z back in the NHL is Vinnie Hinostroza. [The Hockey News]

You probably haven’t thought about Mark Pysyk since early in training camp but the defenseman is still on a PTO and skating again after a preseason injury. [The Hockey News]

As the Penguins bottom six has struggled early in the season, it’s hard to ignore the continued dead weight of Jeff Carter even as he’s been relegated to a fourth line role. [The Hockey News]

One area everyone always seems to want the Penguins to improve in is the physicality department and now their coach has added his voice to the refrain as well. [The Hockey News]

NHL News and Notes...

Shane Pinto becomes the first player to be suspended for gambling related activities by the NHL, receiving a 41-game ban for violating the league’s sports betting rules. [ESPN]

Longtime grinder Zach Kassian announced his retirement from the NHL after 12 seasons. Kassian most recently played for the Arizona Coyotes last season. [Sportsnet]