Pittsburgh Penguins News

Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said Letang skated today for the first time since getting injured and is progressing. However there is still no timetable for his return.

Letang is one of the NHL's best offensive-defenseman, but he has had a hard time staying healthy as of late. He missed 13 games last season and has missed a total of 44 games in the last two seasons.

Kris Letang
Matt Dumba paired with Nate Prosser at skate, signifying Dumba's NHL debut will wait at least a game.

Clayton Stoner will play tonight vs. the Kings and Dumba will sit. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Dumba is a good skater who likes to rush the puck. His offensive game outshines his defensive game, but he loves to throw big hits, which Wild fans will grow to love.

Matt Dumba
Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma says he does not believe Letang's injury is a long-term issue and that he can be activated as early as Oct 8.

This means that Letang's placement on IR was not retroactive to September 27th and that he will for sure miss the Penguins first two games of the season. Make sure to pull him from your lineup.

Kris Letang
The Pittsburgh Penguins said on Saturday that defenceman Kris Letang is out with a lower-body injury. Head coach Dan Bylsma said that Letang will not skate the rest of the weekend and will be re-evaluated back in Pittsburgh.

The coach said he was unsure on whether the blueliner's injury will be short-term or extended until his re-evaluation. Monitor Letang's status in the coming days to see if Letang will be ready for the Penguins season opener on October 3rd.

Kris Letang
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that they've agreed to an eight-year, $76-million US contract extension for 2011-12 NHL Most Valuable Player Evgeni Malkin, who was due to hit the free-agent market next summer.

Malkin will earn $9.5 million US for each season through to the deal's 2021-22 expiration, the club announced. He turns 27 in July, will earn $7.5 million next season under his old deal, with a cap hit of $8.7 million. For his career, he's scored 217 goals and 343 assists for 560 points in 458 games. No stranger to the penalty box, he's compiled 462 penalty minutes.

Evgeni Malkin
The Wild has recalled defenseman Mathew Dumba and forward Carson McMillan from the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League.

Dumba skated in five playoff games with Houston, after appearing in three regular season contests with the Aeros, recording two penalty minutes (PIM). He began the NHL season with Minnesota and was reassigned to WHL Red Deer on Jan. 27. Dumba played in 62 games this season with Red Deer, totaling 42 points (16-26=42) and 80 PIM. He skated in nine playoff games with the Rebels, notching four points (2-2=4) and 14 PIM. The 6-foot, 184-pound native of Regina, Sask., was Minnesota’s first-round pick (No. 7 overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Matt Dumba
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced center Sidney Crosby would return to the lineup for Game 2 of the team's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the New York Islanders.

It will be Crosby's first game since sustaining a broken jaw during a game March 30. During the team's morning skate Friday, Crosby took line rushes in his usual spot, centering a line with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis. He also worked on the team's top power-play unit.

Sidney Crosby
Crosby officially out tonight.

Crosby who has been out since March 30th, is not quite ready to make his return from a broken jaw. This is a tough break for the Penguins but they have more than enough talent to win without Sid. Evgeni Malkin will be leaned on heavily to get the Pens off on the right foot in game 1.

Sidney Crosby
Lines: Kunitz - Malkin - Neal, Dupuis - Jokinen - Iginla, Morrow - Sutter - Cooke, Glass - Adams - Kennedy/Bennett.

Crosby did not practice on a regular line this morning. He was on the 'fifth' line which would suggest that he won't play tomorrow. However he is Sidney Crosby and he wants to play hockey. Monitor his status tomorrow.

Sidney Crosby
Center Sidney Crosby (broken jaw) is practicing, but there is no timetable for his return. He missed the final 12 games of the regular season and, as of Sunday, had not been cleared for contact.

The Penguins kick off their series with the Isles tomorrow so we will have to wait and see if Crosby will be available for game 1. Monitor his status going forward.

Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby takes the ice for practice at Southpointe #Pens

Crosby took line rushes on the Penguins "fifth" line which would suggest that he won't play tomorrow. He did practice on the #1 power-play unit. I think he will be back for game 1 of the playoffs. If not he should be back at some point in the first round.

Sidney Crosby
Karlsson confirms he will play tonight.

He was expected to miss 4-6 months when he had his Achilles tendon 70% severed in February. It is almost unbelievable but Karlsson will in fact be in the Senators lineup tonight. He will be paired with Marc Methot. If you picked him up in a daily league, you're probably pretty happy right now. Get him in your lineup!

Erik Karlsson