Pens Points: Capital Showdown

Jan 26, 2023 - 11:00 AM

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Coming off a barn burning overtime win on Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins head to the nation’s capital this evening for a showdown with the rival Washington Capitals in another contest with heavy playoff implications. Entering tonight, the Penguins and Capitals currently occupy the two Eastern Conference wild card spots, with the Penguins having overtaken the Capitals for the first spot, but only by the slimmest of margins.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on AT&T Sports Network.

Pens Points to go along with your morning coffee...

Tristan Jarry was announced as the starter prior to Tuesday’s game, but when warmups rolled around, he was nowhere to be seen. The reason? Jarry was being evaluated for an upper body injury and had to miss the contest. [Pensburgh]

While exact severity of Jarry’s injury is unknown, it was significant enough that he will miss at least the Penguins next two games. With the long break upcoming, Jarry won’t return to action until after the All-Star Game at the earliest. [Trib Live]

It was already an emotional night for the Penguins with Kris Letang returning to the lineup and that was before he recorded four points and an overtime winner. Letang delivered the goods in his return and his teammates loved every second. [Fan Nation]

With Jarry out until after the All—Star game, goaltender Dustin Tokarski was recalled from the AHL on Wednesday. To make room on the roster for Tokarski, defenseman Ty Smith was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre. [Penguins]

Bottom six help has been the Penguins biggest need this season and what most believe to be the key target at the deadline. That list of needs may have grown beyond just forward depth with the latest injury to Tristan Jarry. [Pensburgh]

News and notes from around the NHL...

It’s now a dead heat atop the Metro division standings as the New Jersey Devils pulled even with the Carolina Hurricanes for first place though the Canes do have a game in hand. Below that, it remains a tight battle for third and into the wild card spots. [Canes Country]

With the Devils in the thick of the playoff chase and likely to be playing into spring, they will be buyers at the trade deadline. A solid core group has brought them this far, up reinforcements up front could only boost their prospects. [All About the Jersey]

Mark Stone and Shea Theodore have been two key missing pieces for the Vegas Golden Knights but Theodore appears to be on his way back imminently while Stone will not play anytime before the All-Star break. [Knights on Ice]