Category: Sports News

Heading into Saturday's matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins had won two consecutive games and appeared to be crawling out of the November slump they found themselves in. 

Unfortunately, all of that quickly went down the drain. 

The Penguins fell to the Leafs, 7-2, to secure their eighth loss in the last 11 games to Toronto. Although the score suggests otherwise, the Penguins actually didn't play a terrible game in terms of generating chances and creating offensive opportunity. 

Unfortunately, their goaltending and their defense completely let them down in this one. 

Penguins' goaltender Arturs Silovs was pulled after allowing four goals on nine Toronto shots, with the final dagger being Dakota Joshua's second-period goal just two and a half minutes after Bobby McMann put the Leafs up, 3-1.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring just under seven minutes into the first period with his fourth of the season, and a minute and a half later, Penguins' rookie Ben Kindel responded on the power play with his sixth goal of the season, batting a puck out of mid-air and knuckling it behind Toronto goaltender Dennis Hildeby to tie it. But Leafs' rookie Easton Cowan seized the lead back on a wide-open one-timer from the right circle a few minutes later to make it 2-1.

After Silovs was pulled in favor of Tristan Jarry during the second period with a 4-1 score, Nicolas Roy was left wide open in the slot during the power play, and the Leafs made it 5-1 in the back half of the middle frame. 

The Penguins began to get some momentum back early in the third period, as Sidney Crosby scored his 16th of the season - and 641st of his career, putting him in sole possession of 15th on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list - at the net front to give the team some life. 

Final. pic.twitter.com/opGXNq7OgW

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 30, 2025

Unfortunately, Auston Matthews responded with the Penguins pushing pretty hard less than three minutes later, and Nick Robertson added a seventh goal later in the period to seal, sign, and deliver the 7-2 win for the Leafs. 

Although goaltending was certainly a huge culprit in this game, the Penguins' defensive zone play did them no favors. On several occasions, the Penguins either turned the puck over or left a man wide-open for an opportunity, and those mistakes piled up.

Parker Wotherspoon was a minus-3, Erik Karlsson was a minus-3, Ryan Graves was a minus-2, and Matt Dumba was on the ice for two goals against - including Robertson's, in which a defensive zone turnover by him led directly to the goal. 

And Joshua was left wide open in the slot on his goal because Kris Letang and Blake Lizotte lost track of him and allowed him to walk right in.

This is one of those nights where it probably wouldn't have mattered how many goals the Penguins scored. The defensive mistakes were that glaring, and a team like the Leafs is going to capitalize on those mistakes - even as a struggling team - because they have so many dangerous players.

"I think the quality of the chances we gave up were just too good," Crosby said. "I thought we had the puck for a good chunk of it, but when we did have breakdowns, they were big ones and quality chances. So, we just got to tighten up."

Takeaways: First Line Powers Penguins' Comeback OT Victory Over Blue JacketsFor most of the first 40 minutes against the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets">Columbus Blue Jackets</a> on Friday, the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> looked like a team fighting itself.&nbsp;

Here are a few takeaways from this one:

- What a rotten game from the Penguins' defensive corps. 

Team defense has been a bit of an issue all season long, but - for the most part - the top pairing of Wotherspoon and Karlsson has actually been pretty solid. That was not the case Saturday. 

Karlsson was credited with four giveaways, Wotherspoon with one. Karlsson was on the ice for four goals against. For how great he has been for the vast majority of this season, he was not good in this game until it was too little, too late. He generated some on offense, but his poor defense outweighed his offensive contributions in this one. 

Wotherspoon wasn't good, either. He's so defensively sound and so rarely out of position, and he was not sound and was out of position a whole lot Saturday. 

As far as the rest? Shea and Letang were the best pairing but were not good by a stretch, either. And Graves and Dumba were almost as rough as Karlsson and Wotherspoon. 

There was breakdown after breakdown, and the Penguins just couldn't stop the bleeding.

Sidney Crosby Climbs NHL All-Time Goals List<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' captain Sidney Crosby has been known throughout his career as one of the NHL's all-time great playmakers.

- Speaking of that bottom pairing, boy, has it been a glaring issue for the Penguins this season. 

On the left side, Caleb Jones wasn't playing particularly inspiring hockey before his injury. Graves - beyond his first couple of games - has not been good. Owen Pickering was a mess in a small sample. Dumba and Connor Clifton largely haven't worked on that side. 

And the right side has been a disaster, too. Between Dumba and Clifton, they've had tiny moments here and there where they've played well enough. But the bad has largely outweighed the good, and they don't bring much other than physicality and - on Dumba's part - the occasional offensive contribution. The youngster in Harrison Brunicke started off strong in his first few games but began to struggle in the games after, turning the puck over with frequency and lacking in net-front defense.

I'm not sure what the solution is for the bottom pairing, but they have to address it if they hope to make the playoffs. And I'm not so sure that deploying the 19-year-old Brunicke out there pretty regularly when he returns from his conditioning stint - barring what happens with World Juniors - could possibly be any worse than what they're icing now. 

At least with Brunicke, you know what you're getting. You know this is a young player who is learning to adjust to NHL speed and NHL reads, and you expect mistakes.

Penguins Loan Top Defensive Prospect Harrison Brunicke To AHLThe Pittsburgh Penguins are giving teenage top defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke a chance to reset at the AHL level with a conditioning loan.

You can stomach those mistakes with a teenager finding his game at the NHL level. But you can't stomach them with veterans. 

After Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's (WBS) slate next weekend, get Brunicke back up here. Get Jack St. Ivany back from his conditioning stint. Either option is preferable to what they have going now. 

- I thought Kindel and Koivunen played a nice game together on the third line. Danton Heinen and Kevin Hayes rotated in and out of that other spot, but the two youngsters were generating a lot of chances and were able to get the cycle going on several occasions. 

Koivunen is so close, and if he keeps playing the way he did Saturday, the production will come. And Kindel was much-improved over what we've been seeing from him lately.

- Heinen and Joona Koppanen are simply not doing enough to justify remaining in the lineup on a consistent basis. 

Koppanen is good on the penalty kill, but he doesn't provide much outside of that. Heinen has largely been a passenger on every line he's been on, and that hasn't changed. 

5 Things The Penguins Should Be Thankful ForAmerican Thanksgiving is upon us, and that means <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/penguins-have-passed-the-thanksgiving-benchmark">folks start talking benchmarks</a>, playoffs, and trade deadline storylines around the NHL.&nbsp;

Tristan Broz was called up prior to Wednesday's game, played, and then was a healthy scratch for the back-to-back this weekend. Quite frankly, I'm a bit baffled by that decision. One game is not nearly enough of a sample size for a player, and I don't feel that Broz was egregiously bad enough in that game to warrant not being iced for the next two.

The Penguins need help scoring, and they need defensively responsible players. Broz can do both. He needs to play Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

- Another player who should be suiting up Monday is Rutger McGroarty, who has four goals and seven points in five games for WBS. He is an immediate upgrade over pretty much anyone the Penguins have been deploying on the left side of their forward unit for the last month.

I would love to see McGroarty, Kindel, and Koivunen play together. But he might not be the worst thing for Crosby right now, either.

Former Penguins Star Is Dominating Right NowFormer Penguins star Jake Guentzel is continuing to impress with the Lightning.

- Silovs was pulled for the second straight game. He was also yanked after allowing four goals to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 21. 

I'm not ready to pull the plug on him. Prior to that game against Minnesota, Silovs had been pretty outstanding to the point that he was appearing in early Calder Trophy polling. But he needs to right his ship quickly, especially knowing who is knocking at the door in WBS.

- I expect a much better effort Monday from the Penguins, even though the Flyers have given them fits as of late. They need to figure out a way to get ahead and get ahead early, And they have to keep their foot on the gas in the aftermath.

Let's see how they respond. 

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The Winnipeg Jets responded exactly the way they needed to on Saturday night. 

Less than 24 hours after a deflating 5–1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that left rookie goaltender Thomas Milic exposed on several goals, the Jets ended their four game losing streak with a 5–2 victory over the Nashville Predators. The win came against the league’s last place team, but it offered a timely reset for a club that had been searching for answers.

Eric Comrie, who had started four straight games and dropped three of them, delivered an important bounce back performance. He stopped 20 of 22 shots to earn his win. 

Up front, Gabe Vilardi continued his hot streak with points in three straight games. He has recorded five goals and two assists for seven points over his last five outings. Nino Niederreiter also broke through with two goals after a four game point drought. Defenseman Dylan Samberg contributed a stellar night with three assists.

Mixed Bag in NHL Debut For Jets' Thomas MilicJets rookie goaltender Thomas Milic faced intense pressure, delivering crucial saves amid defensive struggles and glimpses of NHL-ready talent.

For Nashville, Luke Evangelista stood out with a goal and an assist. His efforts briefly pulled the Predators within one, but the visitors could not complete the comeback.

The Jets opened the scoring just 47 seconds into the game. Gabe Vilardi carried the puck into the zone with Mark Scheifele. Vilardi dropped the puck low to Scheifele, who fired a shot that produced a rebound directly back to Vilardi for a quick finish and a 1–0 lead.

Takeoff initiated 🛫 pic.twitter.com/k05zqogUz0

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) November 30, 2025

Late in the opening frame, Nino Niederreiter doubled the advantage. He entered the Predators zone with speed and snapped a shot over the blocker of goaltender Justus Annunen to make it 2–0 Winnipeg.

The Jets extended the lead midway through the second period with a crisp passing play deep in the Nashville end. Jonathan Toews fed a puck down low to Vladislav Namestnikov, who found Cole Perfetti alone in the slot. Perfetti converted easily for a 3–0 cushion.

Nashville responded on the power play with a point shot from Nick Blankenburg for his third goal of the season. The Predators cut the deficit to one less than three minutes into the third period when Evangelista lifted a backhand from a sharp angle over Comrie’s shoulder.

SILKY MITTS VANGE ALERT! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pFrsuonqh9

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 30, 2025

Winnipeg pushed back and restored their multi goal lead midway through the final frame. Kyle Connor redirected a point shot from Samberg past Annunen to halt the Nashville momentum.

Niederreiter sealed the result with an empty netter for his second goal of the night and sixth of the season as Winnipeg closed out the 5–2 win.

The Jets continue their road trip on Monday when they visit the Buffalo Sabres.

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The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they picked up a point in the standings and stopped their three-game regulation losing skid on Saturday evening against the Boston Bruins.

The bad news is that it was their fourth straight game without a victory, as they were beaten by a 4-3 final score in a shootout at TD Garden. 

Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt scored the only goal in the shootout after neither team was able to find the back of the net during overtime, while Jeremy Swayman stopped attempts from Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat. 

Final in the shootout. pic.twitter.com/Y5WpnQpSBA

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 30, 2025

Connor Geekie scored both goals in regulation for the Bruins, who were playing without both top forward David Pastrnak and defenseman Charlie McAvoy. 

Meanwhile, the Red Wings will lament that they were unsuccessful on all five power-play opportunities they had during the contest, including one in overtime. 

Geekie's two goals put him into a first place tie with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead with 20. He tallied in the second period after a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, deflecting a shot past Cam Talbot following a turnover by Ben Chiarot.

Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. 

Lucas Raymond scored a similar goal in the early goings of the third period, deflecting home a shot-pass from Dylan Larkin to knot the score at one. But following a Chiarot high-sticking penalty, Geekie restored the Boston lead with a one-timed shot from the face-off circle past the glove of Talbot. 

The Red Wings drew even late in regulation with Talbot on the bench after a nifty feed from Kane to Michael Rasmussen, who had a tap-in for his second goal in as many games. 

Talbot stopped 17 of 19 shots, while Swayman countered with 24 saves. Both teams will meet again on Tuesday evening at Little Caesars Arena. 

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For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum