The Pittsburgh Penguins left Anaheim with a familiar problem hanging over them: they looked slow, and the Ducks made them pay for it. Sunday night’s game turned into a frustrating exercise for Pittsburgh as Anaheim’s young talent zipped around the ice and carved out quality chances, while the Penguins spent too much of the night in second gear.
The full breakdown from Anaheim points to a team that was simply outclassed in stretches. The late comeback softened the final feel a little, but it didn’t change the bigger picture.
The Ducks were quicker, sharper, and more willing to play the game on their terms. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, never really found a way to match that pace.
Defenseman Kris Letang said it plainly, and the tactical issues were hard to miss.
There was also plenty going on around the Penguins beyond the loss itself. Sergei Murashov wanted to send a public message, while the team continues to navigate the trade chatter and Evgeni Malkin’s climb in the record book. On the roster front, Ville Koivunen is injured and out day-to-day, and Pittsburgh recalled Rutger McGroarty on Sunday.
There was some noise online about McGroarty not being in the lineup, but the explanation was straightforward enough: he played back-to-back games with Wilkes-Barre on Friday and Saturday, then took a commercial flight to Los Angeles on Sunday. Three games in three days under those circumstances would be a lot to ask.
Elsewhere around the league, the trade talk is heating up. In Chicago, the rebuild has stalled, the frustration is showing, and the Blackhawks may finally be getting pushed toward action.
The situation is getting tense, with no improvement this season and players sounding worn down by it all. Bo Byram also appears to be at odds with team doctors over his injury, adding another layer to the mess.
In St. Louis, Jordan Binnington’s name is back in the rumor mill.
He carries the kind of money that makes him stand out, but his regular-season results haven’t matched that profile. Joel Hofer has taken over the No. 1 job, and now the trade chatter is starting to bubble up under the Arch.
And then there’s the oddest storyline of the day: the New Jersey Devils are blocking Connor Hellebuyck from making his expected start in Winnipeg. Hellebuyck wanted to play and even called it his responsibility, but New Jersey offered what was described as an absurd reason. James Nichols laid out what the Devils should have said instead, but the bottom line remains the same - no Hellebuyck in Winnipeg.
That decision drew sharp reaction, including Brian Hayes at TSN, who ripped into both Hellebuyck and the Devils. The larger point, though, is hard to miss: sometimes the game is bigger than the game, and New Jersey may have handed this one away for no good reason.
One more note from around the league: Tom Wilson was not given supplemental discipline after another dirty hit Saturday against Florida. Both former players on Hockey Night said it deserved a suspension, but the NHL Department of Player Safety once again left people asking the same question. What?!
In Other News...
Penguins Already Face An Uncomfortable Trade Deadline Reality
Early in the 2026-27 season, the Penguins have already found themselves in an uncomfortable spot as the standings start to sort out across the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh is part of a broader group of teams, along with the Flyers and Maple Leafs, that have stumbled out of the gate, and that has pushed the trade deadline conversation up the calendar. On Daily Faceoff LIVE, analysts began sketching out which clubs could eventually drift into seller territory if the results do not improve.
For the Penguins, the chatter is especially awkward because it comes before the season has even fully settled in. Columbus also came up in the discussion, but Pittsburgh is the one drawing the kind of attention that usually comes with deadline speculation, not October uncertainty. If the early slide continues, the Penguins could find themselves in a familiar but unwanted position, with rival teams watching closely to see which direction the front office chooses to take. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Trade Deadline Tension Now Centers On Their Aging Core
The Penguins trade deadline conversation is starting to sound less like a simple sell-off and more like a delicate negotiation with the roster they already have. Sportsnets Elliotte Friedman reported that the team is weighing whether to move some veteran players in an effort to add youth, a direction that puts the spotlight on an aging core and the reality that not every contract is easy to move.
Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell and Evgeni Malkin are among the names in the mix, and each comes with some form of trade or no-movement protection that could shape what Pittsburgh can actually do. For the Penguins, the next stretch will matter as much as the deadline itself, because their performance and the players willingness to go along with any move may end up deciding how far the front office can push this reset. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Roster Transition Is Raising A Bigger Lineup Question
The Penguins are in the middle of the kind of roster transition that can be harder to manage than it looks from the outside. Young players have been knocking on the door after promising stretches in the AHL, but the path from there to a regular NHL role has been slowed by injuries and the simple math of a crowded roster. For a team trying to bridge eras, every lineup decision seems to carry a little more weight than usual.
Tommy Novak and Justin Brazeau have become part of that evaluation, with their usage and fit helping shape how the Penguins are sorting through the next phase of the lineup. The larger question is whether the organization can keep giving those veterans meaningful roles while still finding a way to open the door for the prospects who have already shown they belong in the conversation. [Read more 🡒]