Community Picks: Buffalo 0% vs Pittsburgh 0%

The Pittsburgh Penguins and visiting Buffalo Sabres are each looking for a new beginning -- albeit in very different contexts -- heading into their season-opening contest on Thursday. The Penguins have won three Stanley Cups while qualifying for the playoffs in 13 consecutive seasons, however the club was frustrated and embarrassed after being swept by the New York Islanders in the first round in the spring. That led to one big offseason move, trading six-time 30-goal scorer Phil Kessel to Arizona, after Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford initially hinted at a bigger shakeup and accused his club of complacency in the emotional shadow of the early exit. Continue to Article

October 02, 2019 7:51:pm EST

Now that hockey world had a summer to digest a wild Stanley Cup playoffs that concluded with the St. Louis Blues winning for the first time in franchise history, all of the free-agency turnover and followed down-to-the-wire negotiations for all of those high-profile restricted free agents, the 2019-20 season is ready to begin. After the offseason movement, the next seven months will answer which moves worked out and which didn't. Still, some teams will take steps forward (Dallas, Florida and the New York Rangers appear to be good candidates) and some will fall backward (Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Calgary and Columbus could fall into this category) and some have long, long seasons ahead of them - ... Continue to Article

September 30, 2019 3:17:pm EST

The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to sweep away the Buffalo Sabres in their home-and-home exhibition set, suffering a 5-3 split-squad loss on Saturday night. John Tavares, Pierre Engvall and Trevor Moore scored for the Leafs, while Michael Hutchinson took the loss after Michal Neuvirth made 20 saves in his preseason debut. Here are two key points from the loss: Point 1: Does skill suit Marner and Tavares better? Continue to Article

September 21, 2019 10:35:pm EST

The Toronto Maple Leafs avoided the dreaded winless pre-season, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-0 behind a combined shutout from Frederik Andersen and Michael Hutchinson. Here's one key point from the win: Point 1: Sandin has to be more than a stand-in Now more than a full week into training camp, inexperienced, incomplete and, in some cases, likely incapable players remain in the mix and in a battle for open roster spots with the Maple Leafs. The extent to which the club is staging open competition for jobs is somewhat of a rarity in today's NHL. Continue to Article

September 20, 2019 11:53:pm EST