Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson was involved in a lot of trade rumors during this offseason.
He was coming off his second season with the Penguins after they acquired him from the San Jose Sharks before the 2023-24 season. Penguins general manager and president Kyle Dubas was trying to give this core one more push toward contention before he pivoted and started rebuilding at the 2024 trade deadline with the Jake Guentzel trade, since the Penguins were outside the playoff picture at the time. They tried to make a late-season push for the playoffs, but fell three points short.
Dubas has kept the same plan since that trade deadline and wants to return the Penguins to contention as urgently as possible. It felt like Karlsson wasn't going to be part of those plans after the 2024-25 season, but Dubas opted to hold onto Karlsson during the offseason, and it's been a great decision.
Karlsson is off to a tremendous start to the 2025-26 season, compiling one goal and 12 points in 17 games. His one goal came against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 3, and it was a blistering shot.
He's been showcasing his playmaking ability at 5v5 and on the power play, the latter of which was a bit of a struggle for him these last two years. He wasn't even quarterbacking the top power play unit for most of last year (that job belonged to Matt Grzelcyk), but he has been great in the role this year. He's making the right reads at the point and using his elite skating ability to his advantage.
At 5v5, he's driving offense and is even holding his own in his own end. Part of it has to do with how steady Parker Wotherspoon has been as his partner, but you're not seeing him out to lunch nearly as much in his own zone like you did these previous two seasons. Speaking of the Karlsson-Wotherspoon pair, the two have played 243:32 at 5v5 this season, and when they're on the ice, the Penguins have had 52.7% of the shot attempts, 54% of the scoring chances, 57.4% of the high-danger chances, and 60% of the actual goals (9-6).
Dan Muse and Co. were never going to change Karlsson's playstyle. He's the best offensive defenseman of his generation for a reason. However, there was the opportunity to tweak certain aspects of his game, and so far, that has all worked to perfection. He's not being too aggressive in his pinches, like you'd see under former head coach Mike Sullivan. His positioning has also been outstanding. He's taking those top-pairing minutes and running with them.
Karlsson has even gotten some time on the penalty kill, which hasn't always been the case during his Penguins tenure. He spent a combined 78 minutes on the penalty kill these last two seasons and is already up to 31:45 of penalty kill time in just 17 games this year. He hasn't missed a beat on that unit and has done a great job getting his stick in shooting lanes and winning puck battles down low, leading to clears. It's part of the reason the Penguins rank seventh in the league with an 84.3% PK.
Penguins Take Swedish Goaltending Prospect To Stockholm As Third GoalieThe trip overseas to Stockholm, Sweden for the NHL Global Series presented the opportunity for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> to bring a third-string goaltender with them.
Overall, Karlsson is a big reason why the Penguins are off to a 9-5-3 start and is proving Dubas right for holding onto him during the offseason. He's also trying to secure a roster spot on the Swedish Olympic team after he was on the 4 Nations Face-Off team back in February. He was on a pairing with Mattias Ekholm, and they had great chemistry together. Nobody should be surprised if they get more minutes this coming February, especially if they both make the team.
Karlsson is set to play in his home country on Friday and Sunday, as the Penguins take part in this year's NHL Global Series. They'll play the Nashville Predators in both games before returning to Pittsburgh next week.
We're only a little over a month into the season, but so far, Karlsson is doing an outstanding job silencing his naysayers.
(Data via Natural Stat Trick).
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The 2025-26 NHL Global Series is finally here, and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators are gearing up for their two-game set at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
Pittsburgh's last trip to Stockholm in 2008 ended up turning out pretty well for them, as they later went on to beat the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final for the franchise's third championship. And - according to NHL.com writer Amalie Benjamin - that's something that isn't unique to the Penguins.
In fact, starting with the Penguins' trip to Stockholm in 2008, there have been 10 NHL trips outside of North America. Six teams participating in those contests went on to win the Stanley Cup in the same respective year as their trip.
In other words, these trips actually tend to mean a lot in the grand scheme of things, whether that's due to the team bonding experiences or a break from the normalcy of the NHL schedule. And there are added stakes since these games will count toward the regular season.
Here is what you need to know about this year's Global Series between the Pens and Preds:
- Including this season, the NHL debuted the Global Series in 2017 when the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche squared off, and it had been six years since the league played an international regular season game overseas - as the NHL Premiere series ended in 2011. This is the seventh season the NHL has done the Global Series, as there was a recess in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Penguins Five-Day Break Before Sweden Games Comes At Perfect TimeThe Pittsburgh Penguins have five days off before their next game, and it couldn't come at a better time. - Both games will take place at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, and it will be an international home-and-home series. The two-game set begins Friday at 2:00 p.m. EDT, and it concludes on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. EDT.
- The games can be viewed on Sportsnet and Sportsnet Pittsburgh for regional coverage and on NHL Network for national/international coverage.
- The Penguins enter the Global Series third in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 points and a record of 9-5-3. They have lost four out of their last five games and have blown leads in three of them.
Forsberg And Wilsby Hope Global Series Will Breathe New Life Into PredatorsFilip Forsberg and Adam Wilsby have an opportunity to play two NHL games in their home country of Sweden. But this trip could also provide a fresh start for the Nashville Predators.- The Predators enter the Global Series at 5-9-4 with 14 points, which is second from the bottom of the league standings. The Calgary Flames are the only team with a lower points percentage (.278) than the Preds (.389). They are on a three-game losing streak.
- The Penguins are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games against Nashville.
- The Penguins' active roster features two Swedes in defenseman Erik Karlsson and goaltender Filip Larsson - who was named the team's third-string goaltender for the trip. They also have two inactive Swedish players on their roster in forwards Rickard Rakell and Filip Hallander, who are both on injured reserve. Rakell made the trip, while Hallander did not. The Predators feature forward Filip Forsberg and defenseman Adam Wilsby.
Penguins Take Swedish Goaltending Prospect To Stockholm As Third GoalieThe trip overseas to Stockholm, Sweden for the NHL Global Series presented the opportunity for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> to bring a third-string goaltender with them.
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The St. Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames 3-2 in what came to be a rare thriller situation for the Flames in the Gateway to the West.
Here are the takeaways:
Until the two Calgary goals that were scored in a span of 25 seconds by the 14:29 mark of the second period, the Blues outshot the Flames 22-20, out-chanced them 21-16 in scoring chances and 12-4 in high-danger scoring chances.
After that, it seemed to light a fire in Calgary as until the end of the game, the Flames outshot St. Louis 21-9, out-chanced them 7-6 in scoring chances and 3-2 in high-danger scoring chances.
But Jordan Binnington proved to be too good.
A good start is always necessary.
In the bigger picture, the Flames outshot the Blues 40-31, but St. Louis doubled them in high-danger scoring chances 14-7. Quality counts...
In a one-goal game, a single goal given up on the power play will always be scrutinized. Deservedly so.
But that's not the only reason why the penalty was costly.
Out of the 18 games Calgary has played so far, the time on the penalty-kill in this game (3:46) ranks the seventh-lowest but the shots on goal given up on it (7) were the seventh-highest and the eventual goal was the nail in the coffin.
Even though it was a losing effort and his small size was taken advantage of, Wolf did face the seventh-most shots on goal in a Flames game this season. He came out with a save percentage of 0.903 which is still a consolation prize in this loss.
This game showed something new in the Flames. That they had spunk and fire (pardon the pun).
For the first time since the season opener, you saw passion on both sides of the ice.
Let's see if this carries on.