The Penguins are in Buffalo tonight for the first game of the longest road trip of the season, a seven-game odyssey that will take them from coast to coast. It starts with three games in four nights: in Buffalo tonight, Washington tomorrow night, and Los Angeles Monday night. Coach Mike Sullivan says the team is taking it one game at a time.
It will be the Pens’ first game since goaltender Tristan Jarry was placed on waivers. No other team claimed him by the 2 PM deadline yesterday, so he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, leaving the Penguins with Alex Ndeljkovic and Joel Blomberg to mind the net. Sullivan says he has a plan for the goaltenders, and he’s going to need both of them to meet the demands of the grueling road trip.
Unfortunately for Jarry and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton penguins, a problem with the concrete beneath the ice surface at their arena has forced them to take a week off from game action. The schedule had them playing at home, but now repairs are being made and then it will take at least three days to get a new sheet of ice ready. Their next game is next Friday.
Cody Glass returned to practice for the Penguins yesterday as a full participant after missing Wednesday’s workout with an upper body ailment. Rickard Rakell left the ice early and Sullivan said afterward that Rakell is “nicked up”, according to Sullivan, and just needed rest.
Tonight’s game faces off shortly after 7 PM. Airtime on 92.5 FM U92 is at 6.
Police now say Evgeni Malkin’s three Stanley Cup rings were not stolen in the burglary at his home last Saturday. The rings were found inside the residence. No other information has been released about the break-in. Malkin issued a statement through the Penguins thanking police, the team, and fans for their support.
