Pens Success Pending
The Pens have had an… exciting season, to say the least. Winning streaks, losing streaks, injuries upon injuries upon injuries, and chants of “Fire Ron Hextall” have all added up to make this a season to remember. It’s been a while since I gave a Pens update, so here’s what’s going on:
General Manager Ron Hextall has come under a lot of fire recently for his lack of trades, and his choice of who to trade. So, so many people have been calling for Jeff Carter to be traded, and they have all been ignored by both Hextall and head coach Mike Sullivan, who has been quick to voice his support for keeping Carter every time the topic has come up. Instead, the Pens (in some way or another) got rid of Teddy Blueger, Brock McGinn, Mark Friedman, and Kasperi Kapanen. They also gained Dmitri Kulikov, Nick Bonino, and Mikael Granlund. There were also picks for future years getting traded around, but who cares. That’s a problem for 2024 Haley to worry about. It has really yet to be decided if we’re happy with these trades. I was personally a little heartbroken over the loss of Teddy Blueger, but I’m not general manager so I don’t get a say in the matter. Regardless of my personal opinion, the Pens have won five and lost seven in the 12 games since the trade deadline, which might as well be the same as their six wins and six losses in the 12 games leading up to the deadline. It should be noted that Bonino and Kulikov have yet to play a game with the Pens since their trades, as they’ve both been out on IR the entire time. We shall continue to see the situation develop as players hopefully mend and return to the team.
While we’re on the topic of injuries, did you hear that Jarry was once again out with another lower body injury this week? It’s okay though, we don’t have to — he’s already well enough that he was able to backup Casey Desmith on Saturday. On a more exciting note, Casey has been doing really well recently! Consider this my official apology to Casey Desmith and all of his fans: Casey, I’m sorry. You’ve been doing really well, and you haven’t been in and out every single week over and over again. Congrats on your .907 save percentage. For my bestie Tristan Jarry: please get your shit together, you’re embarrassing me.
With only nine more games left until the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins are just holding on to that second wildcard slot with a three point lead on the Florida Panthers. This week, the Pens are set to face the Red Wings in Detroit on Tuesday, and the Predators in Pittsburgh on Thursday. They’ll then have back-to-back home games against the Bruins and the Flyers on Saturday and Sunday. I’ll be praying my hardest for nine Peng-wins in the coming weeks, I’m not ready for them to be done this season.