Oh my God, oh my God, hockey is back. Life is worth living again.
Well, hockey has sort of been kind of back for a couple weeks now. In fact, the Penguins played seven preseason games, and went 4–3–0. You guys… are we so back?
With a lot of additions to the roster, as well as some updates to coaching staff, I suspect we might feel like we’ve got a whole new Penguins team this season. David Quinn, former head coach of the San Jose Sharks (2022–24) and New York Rangers (2018–21) has been brought on as an assistant coach, mainly dealing with the team’s defense. General manager Kyle Dubas has also been busy in the offseason, scoring the Pens some new talent, like Rutger McGroarty, Anthony Beauvillier, and Cody Glass, who all look great out on the ice.
There have also been some truly shocking developments… the Penguins power play actually doesn’t make me want to claw my eyes out. Don’t look at the stats, they don’t look that good still, just take my word for it. The power play looks way faster, they’re actually taking shots, things are happening. I’m super excited to see how this develops as the season goes on and the team really settles into its new members. The penalty kill, as per usual, is one of the few things about this team that I consistently have faith in.
We’ve also had a little peek at a few new faces in the net. Joel Blomqvist has finally gotten some time in the net, after people were frequently asking for him to be called up at the end of last season, and he looks great. Filip Larsson played in one game against the Senators, and blocked 12 out of 12 shots that he faced.
Have I mentioned that I’m really hopeful and excited for this season? The Penguins season opener will be against the Rangers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, right here in Pittsburgh. Let’s go Pens!
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