EVAN RODRIGUES

Let's look at a few still widely-available players who should be able to make a difference in the second half. Maybe it's because he's not one of Boston's Big Three up front — or Four if you want to include Taylor Hall. 1 center as he's already claimed that honor with 17 goals, 19 assists and a substantial 92 shots. He was never a big scorer yet has already accumulated 12 goals and 17 assists — including a career-high of eight power-play points. Matheson being out for over two months hasn't helped his cause, yet he's averaged almost four power-play minutes in 17 matchups and has produced three PPAs.

Jack Hughes scored on a power play early in the third period and Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves for his first shutout with New Jersey in the Devils’ 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

Johnny Gaudreau leaving Calgary for Columbus headlined a busy offseason of player movement around the NHL.

Rangers Penguins Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins' Evan Rodrigues (9) celebrates his second goal of the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 7, 2022. The reality is surpassing the Pittsburgh Penguins' backup to the backup goaltender's greatest expectations. “We had a chance to change the game and we couldn’t get one,” Rangers forward Ryan Strome said. Forward Rikard Rackell also missed his second straight game after leaving Game 1 following a hit to the head. ... Rangers played without injured F Tyler Motte (upper body), F Barclay Goodrow (lower body) and D Ryan Lindgren (lower body).

Rangers Penguins Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins' Jeff Carter (77) celebrates his goal in the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 7, 2022. Jeff Carter also scored twice for the Penguins while Brock McGinn started the scoring on a wild night with his first goal of the playoffs. The 30-year-old journeyman put together a flurry of stops early in the third period with the Penguins on the penalty kill to set the stage for Heinen's heroics. NOTES: The Penguins played without D Brian Dumoulin (lower-body injury) for the second straight game. Forward Rikard Rackell also missed his second straight game after leaving Game 1 following a hit to the head.

Danton Heinen’s first playoff goal in three years just past the midway point of the third period helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers.

Avalanche Penguins Hockey Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon, center, celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with the help of two goals from Nathan MacKinnon in a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. Mikko Rantanen continued a six-game point streak with an assist in his 400th NHL game (he has 400 career points). Colorado opened a 3-1 lead with a pair of second-period goals scored 2:07 apart. Jeff Carter assisted on Guentzel's goal, becoming the 20th active player with 800 NHL points.

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff spot with a 6-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguin.

PITTSBURGH — (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins spent the first four months of the season shadowboxing each other for the top spot in perhaps the NHL's most competitive division. Evan Rodrigues scored his first goal since Jan. 6 to get Pittsburgh within one with 1:12 remaining, but the Hurricanes held on. Bryan Rust scored his eighth goal in his past eight games and Sidney Crosby added the 501st goal of his career. “It’s a hard game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Rust poked home a rebound off Kris Letang's shot 14:43 into the period gave Pittsburgh some life.

Jesper Fast scored 9 seconds into the third period to break a tie, Sebastian Aho followed with his 22nd goal of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Sunday to move into first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Adam Larsson scored the first overtime goal in Seattle Kraken history to lift the expansion team to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins won the second game of a back-to-back and haven’t lost since Dec. 1 against Edmonton. The Penguins won five games during the streak on the road and can at least think about the team record of 17 straight set over March-April 1993. The Penguins also won 15 straight games in March 2013 and have winning streaks of 12, 11 and 10 games, all since 1999. The Penguins played a Flyers team ravaged with injuries and even more players in the COVID-19 protocol. I just try to focus on the game tonight.”The Flyers could have used more focus — and healthy bodies.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their 10th straight game with a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Blues Penguins Hockey Pittsburgh Penguins' Evan Rodrigues (9) celebrates his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (Gene J. Puskar)PITTSBURGH — (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have been the NHL’s hottest team for the better part of a month. Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Penguins rallied for a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Crosby scored his fifth, Rodrigues his 14th and McGinn his ninth, as Pittsburgh scored three in the third to erase a 3-2 deficit. Crosby has four goals and 19 points in his last 12 games played.

Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3.

The NHL returned to ESPN with a doubleheader that averaged 884,000 viewers, and TNT's coverage attracted more than 669,000 viewers.

Tristan Jarry stopped 27 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped into second place in the East Division standings with a 3-2 win over Buffalo, eliminating the Sabres from playoff contention.

DeSmith figured Ovechkin would try to fire one past him rather than deke his way to the net. DeSmith stayed upright as Ovechkin closed in and felt the familiar smack of rubber hitting him and not the net. “I thought our guys played hard in the second and third against a really good team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. While Sullivan remains confident Jarry will be fine, he turned to DeSmith to help get Pittsburgh going. Washington went 1 for 4 on the power play, a tap-in goal by Backstrom in the second that gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead.