Posts

Posted on

The Five Best On-Ice Moments For The Penguins In 2025

2025 is set to come to an end tonight, and even though the Pittsburgh Penguins didn't have any playoff success again this year, there were still plenty of extraordinary on-ice moments. 

It's always special when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are on the ice together, considering how much that trio has accomplished over the last 20 seasons. 

With all of that in mind, let's look at the five best Penguins' on-ice moments from this year. 

Alex Nedeljkovic scores

Tristan Jarry made Penguins history by becoming the first goaltender to ever score for the franchise in 2023, and Alex Nedeljkovic became the second back on Jan. 17. 

The Penguins were beating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 when Nedeljkovic played the puck behind the net and launched it all the way down the ice for his first goal. His teammates immediately mobbed him after leaping into the bench. 

Nedeljkovic also recorded an assist in this game, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in the same game. 

Pittsburgh Penguins center Ben Kindel (81) celebrates his first career NHL goal with the Penguins bench against the New York Rangers during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The kids get their first NHL goals

The Penguins have gotten strong contributions from their kids throughout the year, making them more fun to watch. 

Rutger McGroarty scored his first NHL goal on Apr. 3 against the St. Louis Blues after he was called back up from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. McGroarty tied the game with 23.5 seconds left in the third with a great play in front of the net. Fellow rookie Ville Koivunen got the primary assist on the goal, which sent the game to overtime. 

Harrison Brunicke notched his first NHL goal against the New York Islanders on Oct. 9. He was coming down the middle in the offensive zone and buried a shot past Ilya Sorokin after Filip Hallander dished him the puck. 

Ben Kindel got his first NHL goal on Oct. 11 against the New York Rangers with a blistering shot past goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He has gone on to score seven more goals since then and has been fantastic in his first NHL season. 

Koivunen had been snakebitten to start his NHL career before finally scoring his first goal on Dec. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He took a feed from Kris Letang and buried the puck into the back of the net. 

Letang notches his 600th assist

Letang hit a significant milestone on Oct. 21 against the Vancouver Canucks. In the Penguins' 5-1 win, which raised their record to 5-2-0 at the time, Letang notched his 600th assist. 

He's now the fourth active defenseman with 600 assists, joining Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Victor Hedman. Letang is also the 20th defenseman in NHL history to accomplish this feat. 

Letang is getting closer to another milestone: his 800th point. He's only nine points away from hitting it, and once he does, he will be the 20th defenseman ever to do it. 

Crosby passes Gretzky for PPG record

Alex Ovechkin wasn't the only one trying to break a Wayne Gretzky record this year. Crosby was tied with Gretzky for 19-point-per-game seasons and broke his record on Mar. 27 against the Sabres when he notched his 80th point. 

That point ensured that he would have his 20th point-per-game season in his 20th NHL season. He finished the season with 33 goals and 91 points in 80 games. 

He already has 21 goals and 40 points in 38 games this season and will notch his 21st point-per-game season if he keeps producing at this pace. 

Penguins Trade Tomasino To Flyers For ZamulaPenguins Trade Tomasino To Flyers For ZamulaThe Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers made a trade on Wednesday.

Crosby passes Lemieux in points

This had been slated to happen at some point this season, and Crosby finally did it on Dec. 21 against the Montreal Canadiens, his childhood team. He needed one point to tie Lemieux's franchise record in points and two to pass him, and accomplished both feats in the first period. 

His goal tied the record before his assist on Rickard Rakell's goal broke it, leading to his teammates mobbing him on the ice. Lemieux even had a beautiful message for Crosby after the latter broke his record. 

That assist got him to 1,724 points, good for eighth in NHL history. He's now up to 1,727 points and is 29 points away from passing Steve Yzerman for seventh on the all-time points list. He should be able to easily hit that mark in the second half of the 2025-26 season, assuming he stays healthy. 

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!   

Posted on

Flyers flat on New Year's Eve, suffer 5-1 loss to Flames

Flyers flat on New Year's Eve, suffer 5-1 loss to Flames originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers had a New Year’s Eve dud in Calgary, Alberta.

They were rolled by the Flames, 5-1, Wednesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Travis Konecny scored the club’s lone goal, which made it 2-1 near the midway mark of the game. But Calgary restored order with back-to-back power play goals before second intermission.

The Flyers (20-12-7) were held to one goal for the second time in three games since the holiday break. They were unable to build off their 6-3 win Tuesday night over the Canucks.

Since last season, the Flyers have gone just 3-13-3 in the second game of back-to-back sets (2-3-1 this season).

Rick Tocchet’s club was swept by the Flames (18-18-4) in the two-game regular-season series between the teams. Calgary beat the Flyers, 2-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena toward the beginning of November when Aleksei Kolosov was in net.

• Samuel Ersson surrendered four or more goals for the sixth time in 15 starts.

He had 20 saves on 25 shots. The 26-year-old wasn’t sharp and the Flyers didn’t help with penalties.

The Flames answered Konecny’s goal with a 5-on-3 power play marker after Cam York was whistled for tripping and Christian Dvorak was hit with a high-sticking penalty four seconds later.

With 3:47 minutes left in the middle stanza, Jamie Drysdale put the puck over the glass and Calgary capitalized again on its man advantage. The Flames were then in full control and that didn’t change in the third period.

Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf faced 26 shots from the Flyers.

• For the 27th time, the Flyers fell down 1-0. They’ve done a good job at picking up points and being mostly competitive, but the slow starts have to be a tad concerning.

• Noah Juulsen saw his first game action in two and a half weeks as he entered the lineup for Emil Andrae.

Andrae’s absence was a healthy scratch, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia. It was surprising because the Flyers were coming off a win in which Andrae was a plus-2 with four hits over 19:27 minutes.

We’ll see if the 23-year-old defenseman gets back in there against the Oilers.

• The Flyers open the 2026 calendar Saturday when they visit Connor McDavid and Edmonton (3:30 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Posted on

Australia back injured stars as squad for T20 World Cup revealed

  • Cummins, Hazlewood and David named for India and Sri Lanka event

  • Matt Kuhnemann included in spin-heavy 15-player team

Matthew Kuhnemann is in line for a World Cup debut after being included as the biggest surprise selection in Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup.

As expected, Australia have named superstar pacemen Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, as well as swashbuckling Tim David, despite injury concerns.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon reportedly agrees to restructure final year of his $245 million contract

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Anthony Rendon has agreed to restructure the final year of his $245 million, seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Angels hadn’t announced any developments with Rendon, who didn’t play last season following hip surgery.

The team and Rendon have amended the deal to restructure the remaining $38 million owed to the third baseman in 2026, presumably spreading the money over time.

Rendon is still on the roster and continuing to rehab at home in Houston, but his horrendous tenure with the Angels could be over.

Rendon’s massive free-agent contract has paid almost no dividends for the Halos. The former Washington Nationals standout has been injured for the majority of the past five seasons and has played just 257 games in an Angels uniform, batting .242 with 22 homers, 125 RBIs and a .717 OPS.

If Rendon doesn’t play in 2026, he will have appeared in only about a quarter of the Angels’ total games during his seven seasons with the team.

Rendon led the majors in RBIs, earned an All-Star selection and won a World Series ring in 2019 to cap an outstanding four-year stretch for Washington. After playing fairly well for Los Angeles during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he was nowhere close to that player in the ensuing four years with the Angels, who haven’t made the playoffs or had a winning record during his tenure.

Rendon dealt with injuries to his groin, his left knee, his left hamstring, his left shin, his oblique muscles, his lower back, both wrists and both hips during the past five years.

Rendon also alienated Angels fans with public comments in which he appeared to say he doesn’t like baseball, although he attempted to clarify his connection to the game as a business relationship that isn’t as important as his family or his religion. Rendon had previously criticized the length of games and excitement level of baseball, saying he doesn’t watch the sport.

Luis Rengifo and YoĂĄn Moncada largely played third base last season for the Angels. Both are currently free agents.

Rendon’s deal might top the long list of high-priced player acquisitions that have worked out terribly for the Angels during owner Arte Moreno’s tenure, including the signings of Gary Matthews Jr., Josh Hamilton and Zack Cozart and unsuccessful trades for Vernon Wells and Justin Upton.

Posted on

Steven Samkos nets 600th goal as Nashville Predators roll past Vegas Golden Knights

After falling behind early, the Nashville Predators scored four unanswered goals to sail past the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2, on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena. 

Among the comeback efforts, Steven Stamkos scored off a one-time shot on the power play for his 600th career goal. He joins Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby as the only three active NHL players with 600 career goals. 

On the season, Stamkos has 26 points (18 goals, eight assists) in 39 games. In the month of December, Stamkos has 14 points (11 goals, five assists) in 16 games. 

Nick Perbix netted his third goal of the season to get the Predators on the board, 2-1. Stamkos' one-time shot tied the game. Reid Schaefer gave Nashville their first lead of the game, tipping in a shot from Brady Skjei. 

Michael Bunting tipped in a shot from Nick Blankenburg on the power play to add insurance. It was Bunting's 10th of the year. 

Justus Annunen picked up his third win of the season and second straight, making 29 saves on 31 shots. 

With the win, Nashville moves to fourth place in the Central Division with 40 points and continues to chase down the San Jose Sharks for the final Wild Card spot, who defeated the Minnesota Wild in a shootout and now have 43 points. 

The Predators have a quick turnaround, facing the Kraken in Seattle on Thursday at 9 p.m. CST.