The Penguins pulled off a dominant 3-0 win over the New York Rangers in the 2025-26 season opener! Patrick and Hunter begin the show by breaking down the Penguins’ dominant performance in New York City. They talk about how Dan Muse’s system stymied the Rangers in all three zones, played solid team defense, and were able to keep the Rangers from getting any offense going all night long. (0:00) Then, defenseman Harrison Brunicke and forward Ben Kindel made their NHL debuts in the season opener and did a lot of good to continue making their case to stay in the big leagues beyond a nine-game tryout. They dive into how Brunicke bounced back from a tough first shift and how Kindel didn’t look out of place at the NHL level. (12:53) Finally, it’s Wednesday once again, so it’s time for Warrior Helmet Wednesday, which means Patrick and Hunter give out their MVPs of the week!
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24 Comments
Silovs is only 24 I saw. I’m not saying he’s the next franchise cornerstone, but I’m just excited on opening night our goalie didn’t give up 2 goals on 3 shots. If he pans out into a legit #1 goalie we got him for a steal in that trade.
The East is likely going to have a down year for many of the top squads. I'd bet on playoffs and all the Gavin Mckenna nuts will lose their mind
A great start to a "Why not?" season.
Great to see. Only one game, and still not expecting much this year as far as the final standings go, but the changes made has made this team feel fresh. Mixed with the steadiness of the Big Three, you have excitement.
I'll be at the home opener tomorrow. I hope Silvos is in goal!
We are back baby! I want you to get the word out we back up
Hunter I'm glad you mentioned Malkin. He was awesome. 39 years and still getting to beast mode when he needs to.
I'm thinking that they keep the Beef Line together and either Rust or Koivunen drops to the third line…and that's not a bad thing because HCDM seems intent on running four lines about evenly.
That was pretty painful Hunter, huh? Lol
I feel your pain listening to the Damper summon his inner Sinatra! Jk
The defense was actually impressive! Even Letang. That was glaring, in a good way
I'm going to suggest that Ryan Shea is only in the top four because of the injury to Jack St. Ivany.
The locker room video, from after the game, when the coaches handed out game pucks makes be think that Dubas and Muse have already decided that, barring a complete disaster, Brunicke and Kindel will be with the Pens for more than the nine games.
I didn't realize how large Brazeau is until I saw him compared to Lafreniere on the first goal. He was just sooo much bigger.
Which game does Jarry get, at home? The Islanders, or the Rangers?
Is it my imagination, but do the six stars look like they are enjoying playing hockey again, under the new coach, and with the young rookies and vets?
I spent a bit of time, last night, on X, replying to Rangers' fans complaining about how bad the team looked saying "welcome to Mike Sullivan hockey!"
The officials have just stopped calling the unsportsmanlike conduct ( diving ) penalties. And coaches need to reinforce that. The state of mismanagement I'm terms of how officiating is managed, continues to be atrocious and that goes for all teams.
Problem with the rangers is that all their best players are on the wrong side of 30. Sully’s system worked here best when the core was in their primes and the only older players are role players like Cullen and Lovejoy. Sid, Geno, Letang, Fleury, Kessel were all mid-late 20’s. Even the guys like Bones, Schultz, and Hagelin. With a solid mix of young energetic guys that the vets fed off including Sheary, Rust, Guentzel, Kuhnhackl, Maatta, etc.
They looked good all around! 3-0 shutout cant ask for much more. I like how Muse is playing all the new comers over the vets regardless of salary. But I agree, they can play Dumba/Clifton over Jones. Nothing much to see there lol
What a great opener. Was a structured performance not a track meet. Karlsson looked good defensively. Only one bad stretch pass that zibenijad intercepted but silovs made a great save on him. Think the pens have a great shot at beating the isles tomorrow. As far as rangers go, i guess we'll find out saturday if they just had a bad night or are a sub par team.
Pat, ginger is the best thing for upset stomach. Ginger supplements are hit and miss. Best thing is get some ginger root (sold in almost every market) and boil it. Drink the tea. It's not only great for stomach issues/nausea etc…it's so powerful it has mindboggling benefits (can ever destroy cancer stem cells). -Johnny
It is nitpicky too … but I actually thought Brunicke struggled. He had a few really rough shifts in the 2nd period, but the Pens new defensive responsibility helped him out. Koivunen also had a pretty "meh" night. Now Kindel … wow, that guy is the real deal. I still don't know if he should stay for an entire season. But his future is really, really bright. There should not be another Penguins' prospect list where Kindel is not #1
It’s crazy how many young guns we have now!!! But geno on that face off win and the assist on the first goal was beautiful!!!!
that was a great game to watch, I know it was a lot of raw effort from our lads but absolutely loved it. great game of hockey and massive props to Silovs keeping his composure and and getting a shutout.
Haha I love how Hunter gave Pat the gears for using the word aura and he’s younger than Pat too. That made me laugh. 😂