Kickoff from Heinz Field 8:20pm
CAROLINA PANTHERS vs PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Category: Sports
Pittsburgh tower to light up in colors of US flag Thursday
Pittsburgh tower to light up in colors of US flag Thursday
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The roof of a historic Pittsburgh building will be lit up this week in the colors of the U.S. flag and will be repeated on holidays after.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the special LED light display for Koppers Tower will be unveiled for the national broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers football game against the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field.
Rugby Realty Inc. Chief Operating Officer Larry Walsh says the tower will also be lit up most of the weekend for Veterans Day on Sunday.
An exception will be Friday, when the roof will be illuminated in blue, as has been the case with a number of other buildings in the Pittsburgh skyline in recent nights to honor victims of the Oct. 27 Tree of Life shootings.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com
No hearing for Malkin for hit to head in Pens’ loss at Caps
No hearing for Malkin for hit to head in Pens’ loss at Caps
By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Evgeni Malkin will not have a disciplinary hearing for his shoulder to the head of T.J. Oshie during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2-1 loss at the Washington Capitals.
Two people with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that Malkin would not face a hearing with the NHL department of player safety and therefore won’t be suspended. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the league does not announce the lack of a hearing.
With Pittsburgh on the power play early in the third period, Malkin passed the puck and lifted his right shoulder into Oshie’s head and kept skating. The officials conferred before deciding to give Malkin a five-minute major penalty for an illegal check to the head and eject him from Wednesday night’s game.
Oshie, who returned and scored the game-winner with 1:14 left, was not mad at Malkin for what he perceived to be an accident.
“He maybe thought I was coming to hit him and so he threw the reverse shoulder out there, which I try to do that all the time,” Oshie said. “I just wasn’t expecting it being on the PK.”
League officials agreed with Oshie’s assumption that Malkin was bracing for contact, not trying to deliver a vicious headshot. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said after the game he was not concerned about the star Russian center facing further discipline, though Washington’s Todd Reirden left open the possibility.
“That’s definitely a blow to the head,” Reirden said. “Those are things we’re trying to remove from the game. … We’re just really fortunate that it wasn’t something that was more serious and he was able to come back.”
Malkin, the Penguins’ leading scorer, will be eligible to play Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes. Pittsburgh has lost five in a row and has just one point during that stretch.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 41 of the 42 shots he faced for his first win since Oct. 22. He got some help from the post on almost a half-dozen occasions, but Holtby also turned in his best performance of the season.
“I felt comfortable as the game moved on,” Holtby said. “I got some breaks, too, early on. The posts obviously was a break we weren’t getting in the past.”
Holtby kept the Capitals in the game, and Oshie provided the heroics. He left the game early in the first period after taking a stick to the face from Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta and needed two stitches to close a cut next to his left eye.
Oshie returned for the second period but had to leave again after the hit from Malkin. He returned for the second time with about five minutes remaining.
“My face is a little messed up, but I’m feeling pretty good now,” Oshie said. “He caught me there, and it is what it is. I passed my concussion test, went out and won the game.”
Pittsburgh outshot Washington 42-22 and got 20 saves from Casey DeSmith in his first career start against the Capitals. He was powerless to stop Oshie’s goal after a pass from John Carlson gave him a wide-open net.
Late in a sloppy game full of turnovers and whiffs on the puck, Oshie just wanted to make sure he didn’t shoot so high he missed the net. After missing most of the first and third periods, Oshie made the most of his only shot in 13:51 of ice time.
“I barely saw him on the bench there,” center Nicklas Backstrom said. “He came back right in time. That’s what big players do. They come back, they score the game-winner.”
NOTES: F Zach Aston-Reese made his season debut and LW Garrett Wilson made his Penguins debut after being called up Tuesday. … Penguins C Derick Brassard missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals D Brooks Orpik missed his fourth game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom was honored before the game for recording his 600th NHL assist. He’s the first player in franchise history to reach that milestone. … NASA engineer and Apollo 13 flight director Gene Kranz was in attendance and got a standing ovation when shown on the video boards during the second period.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Look to stop their skid Saturday at home against the Arizona Coyotes.
Capitals: Continue their home stand Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Pirates sign 3B Jung Ho Kang to 1-year deal
Pirates sign 3B Jung Ho Kang to 1-year deal
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jung Ho Kang is staying with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates and the veteran third baseman agreed to a one-year deal Thursday that will bring Kang back for the 2019 season.
The move comes a week after Pittsburgh declined a $5.5 million club option for Kang, paying him a $250,000 buyout instead. Financial terms on Kang’s new deal weren’t immediately available.
“We feel that bringing Jung Ho back in 2019 will make us better as he will have the ability to make a positive impact on our lineup,” general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. “Competition and options are important to any organization and this signing provides us with both.”
Kang was a star in his native South Korea when the Pirates signed him to an $11 million, four-year deal in January 2015. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after hitting 15 homers and driving in 58 runs in 2015, when Pittsburgh won 98 games. It would be the high point of Kang’s time with the Pirates.
The 31-year-old Kang didn’t play in the U.S. between September 2016 and June 2018 because of visa issues connected to three DUI arrests in South Korea. He made it back to the majors with Pittsburgh in September, collecting two hits in six at-bats during the final weekend of the season.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Steelers Antonio Brown pulled over for going 100 mph
Police: Steelers Antonio Brown pulled over for going 100 mph
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Police say Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was stopped for speeding over 100 mph in his Porsche, just hours before the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Ross Township police tell WPXI-TV that an officer was searching for a bank robbery suspect Thursday when a black Porsche sped by.
The officer pulled the car over and the driver was identified as Brown.
He was cited for reckless driving.
The Steelers say they’re aware of the situation and won’t have further comment. A message seeking comment from his publicist wasn’t immediately returned.
The Steelers have a game against the Panthers on Thursday night at Heinz Field.
The Panthers have won three games in a row while Pittsburgh has put together four straight wins to take control of the AFC North.
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Oshie leaves twice, scores winner to lift Caps over Pens 2-1
– 11/7/18 10:29 PM
AP-HKN–Penguins-Capitals
By STEPHEN WHYNO , AP Hockey Writer
Eds: Capitals 2, Penguins 1. APNewsNow. With AP Photos.
Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby traded goals, and Oshie got the winner with 1:14 left following a dangerous hit from Malkin. The Penguins star was thrown out of the game for an illegal check to the head and could get a hearing with the NHL’s department of player safety.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby stopped 41 of 42 shots for his first victory since Oct. 22. The only goal he allowed was Crosby’s eighth of the season, which came on the power play.
Pittsburgh’s Casey DeSmith stopped 20 of 22 shots in his first career start against Washington. The Penguins lost their fifth in a row and could be without Malkin in the near future.
Oshie’s rough night began a few minutes in when he took an inadvertent stick to the face from Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta and missed the rest of the first period getting stitches on the bridge of his nose. He returned for the second.
An offensive-zone tripping penalty by Washington’s Jakub Vrana midway through the first opened the door for the Penguins’ power play. After Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov lost the puck, Jack Johnson swept it over to Crosby for a one-timer that made it 1-0 at the 12:16 mark.
With Crosby in the penalty box for hooking, Ovechkin tied it 7:09 into the second period. The power-play goal was the 235th of his career and put him in sole possession of eighth on the NHL’s career list.
Pushing and shoving after the whistle was a regularity, and it escalated early in the third period when Malkin lifted his shoulder into Oshie’s head after giving up the puck. The officials conferred before deciding to eject Malkin from the game with a five-minute major.
Pittsburgh survived 1:09 of 4-on-4 and killed off the entire 3:51 of Washington’s power play from Malkin’s match penalty. Oshie returned with about five minutes left in the third and came through with the goal soon after.
NOTES: F Zach Aston-Reese made his season debut and LW Garrett Wilson made his Penguins debut after being called up Tuesday. … Penguins C Derick Brassard missed his sixth consecutive game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals D Brooks Orpik missed his fourth game with a lower-body injury. … Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom was honored before the game for recording his 600th NHL assist. He’s the first player in franchise history to reach that milestone. … NASA engineer and Apollo 13 flight director Gene Kranz was in attendance and got a standing ovation when shown on the video boards during the second period.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Return home to face the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
Capitals: Continue their home stand Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Capitals get late goal to top Pens
3rd Period Goals:
WSH:
T.J. Oshie (18:46)
End of 2nd: Pens 1 Capitals 1 on WBVP and WMBA!!
2nd Period Goals:
WSH:
Alex Ovechkin (PP 7:09)
End of 1st: Pens 1 Capitals 0 on WBVP and WMBA!!
1st Period Goals:
Pit:
Sidney Crosby (PP 12:16)
Devil’s beat Pens 5-1 Final on WBVP and WMBA
Boyle’s hat trick helps Devils defeat Penguins
By DAN SCIFO, Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — New Jersey Devils forward Brian Boyle wants to serve as a role model in the fight against cancer.
He certainly was inspiring on Monday night.
The cancer survivor scored three times for his first career hat trick, leading the Devils to a 5-1 victory over the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins.
Boyle got his natural hat trick on “Hockey Fights Cancer” night in Pittsburgh. It included two power-play goals and two redirections in front of the net.
“I love these nights, I really do,” Boyle said. “Just the initiative and seeing the survivors on the ice and being recognized. Sometimes you feel kind of alone. It can be a dark place at times during a cancer fight. But to be seen, the support everybody shows and the money raised, it’s just a phenomenal thing.”
The 33-year-old Boyle was diagnosed with a form of bone marrow cancer at the beginning of training camp last season. He underwent treatment, returned to the lineup last November and won the NHL’s Masterton Trophy for best exemplifying qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
“There’s ups and downs, just like life,” Boyle said. “The worst kind of part of it was when people felt sorry for you. They don’t know what to say, and you want them to feel comfortable around you. I think it’s important to reach out and ask questions if you need help.”
Will Butcher had a goal and two assists for New Jersey, and Travis Zajac scored his fourth goal. Jean-Sebastien Dea, who spent the last two seasons in Pittsburgh, had two assists.
The Devils stopped a three-game slide with their first road win. They were outscored 15-6 during the losing streak.
Keith Kinkaid made 35 saves for New Jersey, which has won four of its last five against Pittsburgh.
“It’s an easy game to get up for (with Pittsburgh winning) two championships in the past three years,” Kinkaid said. “They’re a good team, but I think we match up well against them.”
Jamie Oleksiak scored for the Penguins, who have dropped four in a row.
Matt Murray stopped 23 shots in two periods before he was pulled for Casey DeSmith, who made 11 saves. Murray has allowed at least four goals in each of his five home starts.
Prior to its slide, Pittsburgh outscored the opposition 23-6 during a four-game winning streak. It’s only the third time the Penguins have lost four straight under Mike Sullivan and the first time Pittsburgh has dropped four in a row at home under the fourth-year head coach. Pittsburgh has two wins in seven home games this season. It won 30 home games each of the two previous seasons.
“A week ago, we were feeling good about ourselves when we won four in a row on the Western Canada trip,” Sullivan said. “It’s not a good feeling when you’re in these types of situations, but we have to rely on one another to get out of it. We believe we have what it takes to be a very good team in the league.”
Boyle gave the Devils a 2-1 lead in the first period when he tipped a Ben Lovejoy shot behind Murray from the top of the crease.
Boyle extended the lead with a power-play goal in the second period. His between-the-legs redirection from the top of the crease made it a 3-1 game.
Boyle scored his second power-play goal off a one-timer from Taylor Hall with 19.7 seconds to play in the second period. Hall has at least one point in 10 of 12 games this season.
“Scoring goals is the most fun thing in hockey, as an individual player,” Boyle said. “And then you can help a team win a game, especially the way we’ve been going lately, it’s a big one for us.”
NOTES: Devils F Joey Anderson recorded his first NHL point. … Penguins F Derick Brassard (lower body) missed his fifth game. He hasn’t skated since Oct. 25. … Devils F Marcus Johansson recorded his 200th NHL assist. … Devils D Andy Greene played in his 800th career game. … Devils F Stefan Noesen (upper body) missed his second straight game. … The Devils wore a “Stronger Than Hate” sticker on their helmets, featuring the team logo and the Star of David. It was in response to the tragic shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue last month.
UP NEXT
Devils: Continue a seven-game road trip Tuesday at Ottawa.
Penguins: Visit Washington on Wednesday.