The Pittsburgh Penguins have a laundry list of players who are sitting out the team’s game against the Washington Capitals Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, notably Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

The Penguins announced seven players are injured and will not play:

• Sidney Crosby (lower-body)
• Ben Kindel (upper-body)
• Evgeni Malkin (upper-body)
• Bryan Rust (lower-body)
• Parker Wotherspoon (upper-body)
• Erik Karlsson (lower-body)
• Kris Letang (No injury listed)

To fill the open roster spots, the Penguins recalled Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, and Joona Koppanen, all on an emergency basis.

Also, forward Connor Dewar’s status was changed from day-to-day to week-to-week.

Crosby has been nursing a knee injury since suffering a Grade 2 MCL tear during the Winter Olympics in February. He missed about four weeks. Malkin has also been nursing multiple injuries, from a shoulder malady to a hand injury.

The Penguins face Washington at 3 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, the club’s last home game of the regular season. The Penguins have already clinched a playoff berth and second place in the Metro Division, but Washington is still chasing a long shot chance to leapfrog the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders in the final three games.

PHN will update the story after coach Dan Muse addresses the media at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tags: erik karlsson Evgeni Malkin Kris Letang Sidney Crosby

Categorized:Penguins News

KDKA — The four astronauts on Artemis II went farther into space than any human has before, and one person from southwestern Pennsylvania can say they took part in the historic mission.

Gary Jordan spent his teenage years in Cranberry Township, growing up loving Star Wars, and while those interests wouldn’t take him to space, they took him to the closest place he could get.

His highlight was a little more than a week ago as Artemis II blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending three Americans and one Canadian on a record-breaking 252,000 miles from Earth.

On the live broadcast, NASA commentator Derrol Nail started with the countdown to liftoff. About 30 seconds later, you could hear a different voice, that of Jordan.

“Houston now controlling the flight of Integrity on the Artemis II mission around the moon,” Jordan said on the broadcast.

Jordan was speaking from mission control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he’s the manager of communications and public affairs.

For three more hours or so, Jordan was the sole voice who translated for the public the conversations between the astronauts and the CapCom, the person speaking to the crew, helping us all to understand what was happening.

“I was taking deep breaths, you know? I was trying to get really into a focused mode,” Jordan told KDKA.

The Seneca Valley High School graduate said that after a year of special training preparing for contingencies, it became real at the 10-minute mark before the launch, his heart racing, but he tried to put himself into one of those simulations to separate himself from the gravity of the moment.

And about one minute into the flight, he took it all in.

“I kind of looked up and saw the engines firing. I saw the plume of smoke. I saw the roar of the engines, and for just a moment, I kind of pulled myself out from that level of focus … and just (sat) in awe of what was happening. People were traveling, people were about to go to the moon, and we were a part of it, and we were making it happen,” Jordan said.

It’s a memory he’ll never forget.

“It’s definitely an honor. It’s definitely humbling,” Jordan said.

It’s one he will take with him as he sets his eyes on 2028, when the U.S. plans to send astronauts back to the surface of the moon.

“I would love to stick around and do anything I can to push us towards getting there and do it what I think is the best way possible, share with as many people as possible,” Jordan said.

The NFL draft is just two weeks away from coming to Pittsburgh, and with each passing day, more road closures in the city go into place. 

Time is ticking, and work is progressing to make sure the footprint of the draft is good to go, because the city is expected to host hundreds of thousands of people. 

However, looking ahead to next week, it may be difficult to get around town because the next round of road closures will go into place. 

What roads are closed? 

As of Friday morning, Art Rooney Avenue, West General Robinson Street, and Scotland Avenue are closed. 

Beginning on Monday, more will be added to the list as part of phase two of the closure plan. 

The following roads will close:

• Casino Drive from Sproat Way
• North Shore Drive to Chuck Noll Way
• Reedsdale Street to Tony Dorsett Drive
• Chuck Noll Way and Tony Dorsett Drive

Those closures will be in place until April 21. 

If you are planning to drive in that area, there will be clearly marked detour signs to help navigate around the closure and get to your destination. 

Will local businesses be closed on the North Shore?

There will be limitations and closures around some local businesses on the North Shore due to the road closures. 

“We worked really hard to make sure all of the businesses from the casino to businesses on North Shore Drive and PNC Park are all still readily available,” said Jared Bachar, President & CEO of Visit Pittsburgh.

First, the Kamin Science Center will be on partial operation beginning on Monday when the roads close. Acrisure Stadium itself will have limited availability, and Stage AE will be off-limits completely. 

Residents, businesses prepare for NFL draft impact

While there is frustration over closures that will redirect so much traffic, they are necessary. It’s also causing North Side residents to have to adapt. 

“I’m going to do my best not to go out of the house,” said Jackie Fields. “I’ve been going the opposite direction and figuring out which way I have to go now.” 

For the crews working near the stadium, this is the next step in making sure the entire area is ready for the big event. 

“This next phase of road closures helps us get prepared for all of those activities; there’s a lot of build-out of infrastructure, new structures being built, new draft amenities in and around that site,” Bachar said.  

Looking beyond phase two, there are six total phases of road closures that’ll happen from now until the draft.