The Penguins got exactly the kind of response they’ve been waiting on from Rickard Rakell on Saturday night.
Trailing 2-1 and running out of time, Pittsburgh got a late equalizer from one of its top weapons, with Erik Karlsson and Sidney Crosby setting up Rakell to tie the game. It was the kind of goal the Penguins have been missing early this season: Crosby finding a winger in space, and that winger finishing.
For Rakell, it was a relief as much as anything. He said after the game, “It felt so good. The amount of looks I had - first off, in this game - my teammates setting me up for all these chances, it definitely feels good to put one in,” Rakell said after the game.
The finish was only his second goal of the season in a year that is now 12 games old, but the chances have been there. Rakell was denied on a breakaway earlier in the game, and he has been among the league’s more active players at 5-on-5 even before Saturday’s matchup with Nashville. The goal itself came after the Penguins had pulled their goalie, so it was scored in a 6-on-5 setup rather than at even strength.
What stands out most is how much Rakell is shooting. He has 30 shots on the season, easily the most on the team.
Kris Letang, Ben Kindel and Nick Robertson are next with 23 apiece. That volume tells the story: the puck is finding Rakell, even if the goals haven’t followed often enough.
That’s why Pittsburgh needs him producing. Rakell scored 59 goals over the last two full seasons from 2024-25 to 2025-26, putting him in the same neighborhood as players such as Kirill Marchenko, Brock Nelson, Bo Hovat and not far from Sidney Crosby, who had 62.
The Penguins can’t afford for a scorer like that to stay cold for long. Their record through the first 11 games of the season already showed how important he is, and Saturday offered another reminder as the Penguins found a way to win in overtime after Rakell delivered in the closing stretch.
The timing matters even more now with Bryan Rust out injured for at least six weeks. When one of the regular finishers is unavailable, Rakell’s role becomes even bigger.
The encouraging part for Pittsburgh is that this hasn’t been a case of Rakell disappearing from the offense. He has been getting to the right spots and creating looks; the issue has been putting the puck in.
That kind of stretch can come and go even for established scorers. For a player with Rakell’s skill level, enough looks usually start to turn into goals.
Saturday gave the Penguins a glimpse of the old version of Rakell - the one who can change a game with one clean finish. Pittsburgh’s top line needs more of that, the power play could use it, and the team as a whole would welcome a few more nights where his chances start showing up on the scoreboard.
In Other News...
Penguins Forward Group Suddenly Has A Chance To Settle Down
The Penguins forward group may finally be getting a chance to breathe a little. With the lineup still finding its shape, Rickard Rakell is off to a slow offensive start but continues to create looks, and general manager Kyle Dubas has kept the focus on the bigger picture by expressing confidence that the scoring will come. Around the league, there has been no shortage of roster churn and injury-related moves, but in Pittsburgh the more immediate question has been how the lines can stabilize long enough to start building some rhythm.
One place that could help is the evolving mix around Evgeni Malkin, where Hendrix Lapierre has been given an opportunity alongside Ville Koivunen after previously sitting as a healthy scratch. Add in Justin Brazeau getting closer to a return from a preseason lower-body injury, and the Penguins suddenly have a little more flexibility than they did a week ago. For a forward group trying to settle into roles, that kind of turnover can be disruptive, but it can also create the opening for someone to stick. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Are Finally Showing Signs Fans Have Been Waiting For
A healthy practice often tells you more about a teams direction than any one game, and the Penguins had a little of that kind of encouraging energy as the group got back on the ice. One injured Penguins player was a full participant at practice, a small but meaningful sign for a club that has spent plenty of time juggling its lineup and trying to get everyone pointed the same way again.
There was also some useful perspective from within the room, with Ville Koivunen and Arturs Silovs both talking about their current roles and the areas they are working to improve. For a Penguins team still sorting out its pieces, those kinds of conversations matter because they hint at players settling into bigger responsibilities, even if the bigger picture remains a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins May Have Found Something In Their Response To Recent Losses
For a group trying to steady itself after a rough stretch, the Penguins overtime win over Nashville offered more than two points. They erased a third-period deficit, got important minutes from players elevated because of injuries, and saw the kind of late push that has been missing in some of the recent losses. Rickard Rakell helped set the tone for the comeback, and the overall response from the lineup gave the night a different feel than the games that had slipped away.
Dan Muse pointed to the effort and the gradual progress the team has shown since those setbacks, which is the part the Penguins will care about most as they try to build something sustainable. The win also came with another layer of lineup shuffling, and one of the more intriguing developments was how a recalled forward fit into the mix against a playoff-style opponent. For a team still looking for consistency, those are the kinds of small signs worth watching. [Read more 🡒]