{"id":518399,"date":"2026-03-23T12:40:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/518399\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T12:40:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:40:15","slug":"penguins-week-ahead-schedule-storylines-crosbys-return-elcs-signed-more-the-hockey-writers-pittsburgh-penguins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/518399\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines- Crosby’s Return, ELCs Signed, & More – The Hockey Writers – Pittsburgh Penguins"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Pittsburgh Penguins head into the final week of the month of March, they enter the week right in the thick of the playoff race. Last week (March 16-22), they saw Sidney Crosby<\/a> return and had a solid overall week outside of their 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 22. They will need to continue their strong play this week if they want to stay in the playoff race, with the teams around them playing at the top of their game.<\/p>\n

Big Matchups at Home<\/p>\n

After lighting up the scoreboard against the Colorado Avalanche on March 16 in their 7-2 win and taking three of four points in their next two games of the week, the Penguins are looking to continue that momentum into a tough week. <\/p>\n

On March 24, the Colorado Avalanche bring their high-octane transition game to town, followed by a March 28 visit from the Dallas Stars. Both are elite Western Conference contenders. For a Pittsburgh team trying to solidify a playoff seed, this three-game stretch will be a true test for them.<\/p>\n

The Captain Returns<\/p>\n

Any discussion of the Penguins\u2019 post-season viability begins and ends with Sidney Crosby. The hockey world held its collective breath during the 2026 Winter Olympics when Crosby went down with a lower-body leg injury<\/a>. The Penguins were able to withstand Crosby\u2019s absence, with players like Erik Karlsson, Yegor Chinakhov, and Rickard Rakell helping lessen the blow.<\/p>\n

\"SidneySidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (Kyle Ross-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Crosby\u2019s return on March 18 against Carolina provided some energy and a jolt for the team. Looking remarkably sharp for a player who had been sidelined for nearly a month, Crosby tallied a goal and an assist, reminding the league why he remains the leader of the organization. With 28 goals and 62 points on the year, he isn\u2019t just leading the team in scoring; he is the steady, level-headed leader when the pressure is really on.<\/p>\n

Depth Continues to Take a Hit<\/p>\n

While the return of Crosby certainly bolsters the top of the lineup, the Penguins are fighting the injury bug in the bottom six of the lineup. Defenseman Ryan Shea<\/a> and forward Kevin Hayes are both currently sidelined with day-to-day upper-body injuries.<\/p>\n

Related: Predicting Which Penguins\u2019 Free Agents Stay & Leave This Offseason<\/a><\/p>\n

Along with the aforementioned players is the absence of Filip Hallander (leg) and Blake Lizotte (upper body) continues to strain the bottom six. While Hallander has not been a full-blown everyday player for the Penguins, Lizotte has been valuable to the lineup when healthy and brings extra energy to the ice. The Penguins will need the top two lines, as well as the guys filling in for the injured players, to step up against the stiff competition they will face this week. <\/p>\n

Entry-Level Contracts Being Signed<\/p>\n

Amidst the intensity of the playoff push, the front office has kept one eye on the future. The recent signing of goaltending prospect Gabriel D\u2019Aigle to an entry-level contract (ELC)<\/a> signals another chapter in the next step of development and the future of the organization. While D\u2019Aigle\u2019s numbers have not been the greatest on a weak Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he has plenty of upside and adds another goaltender to an already strong group in the Penguins\u2019 system.<\/p>\n

On top of D\u2019Aigle signing is the play of Taylor Gauthier. The undrafted netminder has been great all season long for the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL. Among goaltenders with at least 20 games played, Gauthier leads the league with a .929 save percentage and sits second with a 1.98 goals-against average. While the ECHL is a long way from the bright lights of the NHL playoffs, Gauthier\u2019s performance provides a level of organizational depth that is rare. To say the Penguins have plenty of help in their system at the goaltender position may be an understatement. <\/p>\n

Another Penguins prospect signed their ELC this week, with 2025 first-round pick Bill Zonnon<\/a> signing his on March 22. After starting the season injured, Zonnon has gotten himself fully on track with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL. He is expected to be a big part of the future for the Penguins as he continues to develop his game.<\/p>\n

Penguins Schedule March 23-29<\/p>\n

DateOpponentVenueTimeGame NotesMarch 24vs. Colorado AvalanchePPG Paints Arena7:00 p.m. (EST)Second and final matchup vs. Colorado)March 26@ Ottawa SenatorsCanadian Tire Centre7:00 p.m. (EST)Third game vs. Ottawa (0-2 record)March 28vs. Dallas Stars PPG Paints Arena5:00 p.m. (EST)Second game vs. Dallas (0-0-1 record)<\/p>\n

AI tools were used to support the creation or distribution of this content, however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of The Hockey Writers editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Pittsburgh Penguins head into the final week of the month of March, they enter the week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5113],"tags":[716,18755,5,4,118,1469,100,5216,768],"class_list":["post-518399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-bill-zonnon","tag-gabriel-daigle","tag-hockey","tag-nhl","tag-penguins","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-pittsburghpenguins","tag-sidney-crosby"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116278545661042225","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}