#pittsburgh-penguins

#pittsburgh-penguins

Alex Ovechkin hasn't always been on the best of terms with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but both the team and its fans took time on Thursday night to recognize his historic career. After Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to join the 900-goal club on Wednesday night, several Penguins players made a point to congratulate him on the achievement when he came to Pittsburgh, with Evgeni Malkin even stopping by the Capitals' locker room postgame for a jersey swap. Malkin later posted a photo of the swap, captioned simply "900."

The incident happened early in the first period after Anthony Mantha's goal gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Emergency personnel treated the fan, a man who was not identified, before taking him to Mercy Hospital, located a few blocks from the arena. Play was not halted while the man was being treated. Pittsburgh police told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the man was in critical condition.

Penguins projected lineup Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan RustAnthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin BrazeauFilip Hallander - Tommy Novak - Philip TomasinoConnor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari Parker Wotherspoon - Erik KarlssonRyan Shea - Kris LetangCaleb Jones - Harrison Brunicke Arturs SilovsTristan Jarry Mathew Dumba, Connor Clifton, Ben Kindel Kevin Hayes (upper body), Rutger McGroarty (upper body)

After taking the ice for warmups in their traditional black and gold home sweaters, the players returned to the ice for game action in all-mustard colored threads. The new sweaters feature some legacy-honoring details such as a triangle shoulder patch, symbolizing Point State Park, with "three river waves" to signify the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers in Pittsburgh. The patch also depicts an igloo to honor Civic Arena, the Penguins' home from 1967 to 2010.

Historically, Opening Night has not been kind to the Islanders. They're 14-26-11 all-time to start a season (.385 points percentage), including 11-20-8 on the road and just 3-6-4 at home. Only four teams - all Original Six franchises - have opened more seasons away from home. Over the last nine years, New York is 3-5-1, and just 6-12-4 in their last 22 openers.

The 25-year-old defenseman was placed on NHL waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday after failing to make the rebuilding squad's team out of camp. Alexeyev signed a one-year deal with the Penguins in July after the Capitals declined to extend him a qualifying offer. Per the Penguins, Alexeyev was one of 10 cuts on Saturday, which saw four players assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, five placed on waivers, and another released from their PTO.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are not the same team that had the likes of elite stars Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux. They do not have the goaltending of Tom Barrasso or the offensive defenseman like Paul Coffey. They are retooling on the fly in hopes of making the playoffs once again. Last season they hovered around .500 and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. With a revamped roster do those expectations go back to making the playoffs?

Alexeyev expressed happiness about his new opportunity with the Penguins, where he's expected to play more than the eight games he saw last year.

One candidate to watch is Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love, who was impressive during his interview for the Pittsburgh Penguins' vacant head-coaching position.