Detroit selected Mantha with the 20th pick at this year's NHL entry draft. He scored 50 goals and 39 assists in 67 games with Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) last season. He has been off to a hot start this year as well, 13 goals and 10 assists (23 points) in eight games (first in QMJHL).
This is the first time Letang has skated with the team since the injury. Consider him questionable for tonight's matchup with Florida. An update will come after Pens practice.
Penguins defenseman Letang skated hard Thursday at Southpointe. He made cuts. Stopped hard and started quickly. Did drills with lateral movement. Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma has said Letang needed to work his way back to practice before he would return to the lineup.
Coach Dan Bylsma said Letang will accompany the Penguins to Florida for the two-game trip that begins Friday night in Sunrise, but cautioned against assuming he will be back in the lineup while the Penguins are on the road. “Kris needs to progress back to practice before we’d think about putting him in a game at this point in time,” Bylsma said. “I don’t see him just stepping back into a game situation without a team practice.”
This is positive news for Letang owners who should get their star defenseman back in the near future. Letang is questionable for Friday's contest with the Panthers.
While the Penguins have yet to give a timetable on Letang's return this is a positive sign, that he is getting closer.
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.
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.
Reports are that Letang is dealing with a knee injury but he is not expected to be out longterm.
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.
The right move as Letang has been one of the top offensive Dmen in the game the past few years. With Pittsburgh's offensive-minded focus, look for Letang to continue his high fantasy output.
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.
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.
This is the first time that Crosby has skated on a regular line since rejoining practice last Friday.
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.
Crosby practiced on the Pens fifth line in practice so it doesn't look like he will play tonight. We'll wait for an official word from the Penguins this afternoon.
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.
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.
Rakell scored 44 points in 40 games with the Whalers this season. He was unable to record a point in four games with the Ducks earlier in the season.
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.
