Pittsburg, PA
Musings: Penguins Win Streak Snapped Against Senators | Pittsburgh Penguins
On Monday, the Pittsburgh Penguins saw their six-game winning streak snapped in their final home game before the Olympic break, falling 3-2 to the Ottawa Senators.
“What we had today wasn’t much, and we still hung in there all the way to the end,” Erik Karlsson said. “It’s obviously never fun losing, but I don’t think that we deserved to win this one, even though we were hoping that we could hang in there a little bit to the end and at least get into overtime.”
Even though the Penguins were able to score first, off a pass from Evgeni Malkin to Egor Chinakhov, the Senators controlled the majority of the play. It was goaltender Arturs Silovs who kept his team in it, making several quality saves in the first period.
“I think him and [Skinner] have been standing on their head every night for us and tonight, unfortunately, Artie was forced into that,” Blake Lizotte said. “He did a great job and deserved better from us out in front of him.”
Throughout the first 40 minutes of play, the score was only 1-1 while the Penguins got outshot 22-10 in the process. While the team has been playing incredible hockey since the holiday break, going 13-2-2 in the process, tonight the team struggled to sustain possession and get into the offensive zone.
“I don’t think that we played the game that we have been for the past six weeks,” Karlsson said. “This was probably one of the very few games where we couldn’t seem to figure out how we wanted to play. I don’t think anyone in here, myself included, feels very good about how we started.”
The team also found themselves short-handed a lot throughout the first two periods when they took four straight penalties.
“It’s just too many penalties,” Lizotte said. “It takes guys out of the game. But from a team perspective, that’s disappointing to take that many. But from a PK perspective, really proud of the way the guys battled tonight, even though we didn’t have our best stuff.”
In the third period, Ottawa was able to get their first lead of the game after Tim Stutzle buried the rebound after Drake Batherson’s breakaway opportunity.
Just two minutes later, the Penguins were able to fight and tie the game after Ryan Shea’s shot from the boards snuck past Linus Ullmark, and Novak was there to get his tenth goal of the season.
“I think when you come out flat for two periods and you’re still in the game, you have a chance to win,” Lizotte said on the team’s effort in the third period. “I think there was a little bit of juice there, but overall, you’re not going to win many hockey games playing like that over 60 minutes.”
With just over five-minutes left in regulation, Claude Giroux found himself on a partial breakaway. Silovs stopped the initial shot, but the contact from Karlsson had Giroux crash into the net, which led the puck to cross the goal line.
Head Coach Dan Muse challenged the call for goaltender interference, but after further review, the referees ruled it a goal.
“He came in, I stopped the puck. He goes like 25 miles (per hour) going down,” Silovs said. “What (do) they expect me to do? I would understand if it would go straight away in. Then, I would agree with the call. But it’s a second effort. I don’t really agree with the call.”
Down by one, the Penguins pulled Silovs and tried to tie the game, but couldn’t break the Senators’ defense to beat Ullmark before time ultimately ran out.
The team will have a quick turnaround before traveling to New York to face the Islanders on Tuesday.
“This was not the brand of hockey that we’ve been accustomed to playing,” Karlsson said. “Gotta wash this one away. We know we’re a much better hockey team. We got a big game again tomorrow, and I think everybody’s already looking forward to turning the page.
More from Muse on Monday’s performance against Ottawa:
How did you see the sequence unfold on the game-winning goal? What was the explanation that you received?: I didn’t get an explanation. I saw it as they called a slash, he makes the save, and is run into, no chance at all. There’s nothing else that he can do there. I felt like that was one we could challenge. That’s why I challenged it. I don’t have any explanation.
Was tonight’s game just a flat performance? Is there anything that you can put your finger on?: It was flat, it was execution, races, battles. I think [Silovs] had a really strong game, and our penalty kill did a good job. Outside of that, I don’t think there’s much else I’m walking away here liking.
Is there a way to handle the systems and structure that Ottawa had tonight?: No, we’ve seen it this year. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen it. I do think we can be better. I think there’s been games where we have been better. I don’t think this is going to be like saved all the time. I thought it wasn’t it tonight. You look at the missed opportunities, starting with just our execution coming out of our zone. The first couple of shifts, there’s plays to be made. We’re not making them, or the support is not there. I thought as you got to the end of it, especially the back half of the first and throughout most of the rest of the game, it was just kind of playing into the game that they want to play. And I think we’ve also shown enough throughout the course of the year that we can generate off the forecheck. We can get into the offensive zone. We don’t have to force it early on, and we can generate that way. We weren’t doing that tonight. And so now we spent, it felt like the great, great, great majority of the game either defending or without the puck. And you don’t want to play that game. And so, I mean, that’s a credit to them. They work hard, they check hard, and they’re playing well. But at the same time, I thought a lot of this, we got to look in the mirror tonight in terms of the game that we played. And the only reason that this was a close game was just because of Artie.
With the huge game tomorrow against the Islanders, was tonight a wake-up call for the team?: Because it’s a quick turnaround, like, it’s nice that we get to play tomorrow night, but we also can’t just say that this didn’t happen. Like, we have to be better than this. For me, it’s so far off the mark from where we’ve been playing and where we’re working to get to. And so, it’s an opportunity tomorrow to show ourselves that there’s a much better game that we have the ability to play than that.
You’ve had a couple of challenges this year that haven’t gone your way around the net. Does the league explain what is or isn’t goaltender interference?: Yeah, I think a lot of it also is that there are a lot of factors that are at play. We get all of them. We get the explanations. So, I mean, I would challenge that one again.
Pittsburg, PA
2025 Steelers Offseason Recall: Garrett shutdown as Pittsburgh bullied Browns in Week 6 | Steel City Underground
Steel City Underground presents post-game takeaways in our Steelers Offseason Recall series, revisiting key moments from the 2025 season and how they shaped the year that followed.
AFC North football rarely looks pretty, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium followed that familiar formula. What started as a defensive slugfest on a torn-up field eventually turned into another frustrating afternoon for Cleveland as Pittsburgh pulled away for a 23-9 victory.
The win improved the Steelers to 4-1 and extended their remarkable regular season home winning streak against the Browns to 22 games. More importantly, it reinforced an early-season identity centered around disruptive defense, efficient quarterback play, and winning the battle in the trenches.
Looking back, these were the biggest surprises from Pittsburgh’s victory.
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Jalen Ramsey stole the show from Watt and Garrett
Nobody expected Jalen Ramsey to leave Week 6 with more sacks than T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett combined, but that’s exactly what happened.
Ramsey entered the game after missing practice time earlier in the week and proceeded to deliver one of the more unexpected stat lines of the season. The veteran defensive back recorded two sacks and six combined tackles while frequently helping confuse Cleveland’s protection schemes.
Meanwhile, Watt recorded half a sack while Garrett failed to register one entirely.
Ramsey even admitted afterward that the performance surprised him. His production highlighted an emerging trend within Pittsburgh’s defense: pressure was coming from everywhere.
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The Steelers defense overwhelmed Cleveland’s offense
While Ramsey grabbed headlines, the collective defensive effort suffocated Cleveland for most of the afternoon.
The Steelers finished with six sacks as Nick Herbig led the team with two sacks while Ramsey added two of his own. Derrick Harmon, Watt, and Alex Highsmith also got involved as Pittsburgh repeatedly collapsed the pocket around rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel never looked comfortable. The rookie completed 29 of 59 passes for 221 yards and struggled once Cleveland became one-dimensional after falling behind. He finished with a passer rating of 66.3 while absorbing constant punishment.
Pittsburgh didn’t rely solely on edge pressure either. Defensive backs blitzed, interior rushers collapsed protection, and disguised looks forced Cleveland into mistakes.
Perhaps equally impressive was how the Steelers handled Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. Entering the matchup, Judkins had averaged 4.6 yards per carry and looked like one of Cleveland’s few consistent offensive weapons. Pittsburgh erased that advantage, holding him to a season-low 36 rushing yards on 12 carries while limiting him to 3.0 yards per attempt.
Through five games played after their bye week, the Steelers had already amassed 20 sacks and were rapidly becoming one of football’s most disruptive defenses.
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Myles Garrett disappeared
The Browns needed a game-changing performance from Myles Garrett. Instead, Pittsburgh’s offensive line turned in one of its best performances of the season.
Garrett moved around the formation throughout the game, but he spent much of the afternoon lined up across from Broderick Jones. With occasional help early and more one-on-one opportunities later, Jones and company neutralized Cleveland’s biggest defensive weapon.
Garrett finished with only two combined tackles. He failed to record a solo tackle, sack, forced fumble, quarterback hit, or pass defended.
Keeping Garrett quiet fundamentally changed how Cleveland could attack Rodgers and allowed Pittsburgh’s offense to remain balanced throughout the afternoon.
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Rodgers stayed efficient and upright
Aaron Rodgers didn’t deliver a vintage statistical masterpiece: he simply controlled the game.
The veteran quarterback completed 21 of 30 passes for 235 yards while distributing the football efficiently and trusting Arthur Smith‘s offensive approach. Rodgers leaned heavily on his tight ends early before taking advantage of favorable matchups later in the game.
His biggest moments arrived in the second half. Rodgers connected with Connor Heyward for a touchdown strike before finding D.K. Metcalf for another score that helped create separation on the scoreboard.
Equally important, Rodgers stayed upright. For only the second time that season, Pittsburgh allowed zero sacks. Cleveland hit Rodgers only three times despite him attempting 30 passes.
Compare that with Dillon Gabriel, who absorbed six sacks and 16 total quarterback hits.
The offensive line, aided by extra blocking looks featuring Spencer Anderson, kept Cleveland’s front from controlling the game and allowed Rodgers to operate comfortably. Metcalf benefited from the protection, turning four receptions into 95 yards while the Steelers spread touches across Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth, Roman Wilson, Darnell Washington, and Heyward.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, and Kaleb Johnson combined for 89 rushing yards to maintain offensive balance. Pittsburgh averaged 5.8 yards per play and controlled possession despite both teams having the same number of drives.
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The officiating nearly stole the spotlight
Not everything about the victory came without frustration. Ron Torbert’s officiating crew inserted itself into the game repeatedly as Pittsburgh absorbed ten accepted penalties during an afternoon filled with questionable decisions.
Several pass interference rulings frustrated players and fans alike.
Jerry Jeudy appeared to drag Brandin Echols down by both shoulder pads on one play, yet the result went against Pittsburgh. Later, Browns cornerback Denzel Ward appeared to pin D.K. Metcalf’s arm without drawing a flag.
Even Watt found himself repeatedly flagged for alignment penalties despite checking positioning with officials beforehand, leading to visible frustration from Mike Tomlin on the sideline.
The most controversial moment arrived on special teams. Ke’Shawn Williams appeared to spark the crowd with a 47-yard punt return before an illegal blindside block penalty on Jabrill Peppers erased the play. The penalty not only wiped away field position but also backed Pittsburgh up an additional ten yards.
Despite the officiating frustrations, the Steelers remained composed, and by the end of the afternoon, that discipline, paired with suffocating defense and efficient offense, delivered another divisional win and continued building momentum heading into a critical AFC North stretch.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates sent out one of their relief pitchers, who they had recently moved on from.
The Pirates announced that they traded right-handed relief pitcher Justin Lawrence to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations on June 1.
Pittsburgh designated Lawrence for assignment on May 29, as they activated right-handed starting pitcher Jared Jones from the 60-day injured list, making room for Jones on both the 26-man roster and the 40-man roster.
The Twins decided that instead of waiting for Lawrence to go on waivers, they sent cash considerations to the Pirates to get him over another potential ball club.
Overlook at Justin Lawrence’s Tenure With the Pirates
Lawrence struggled for the Pirates this season, posting a 5.32 ERA over 22.0 innings pitched and 23 outings, a 0-2 record, 25 strikeouts to 12 walks, a .244 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.55 WHIP.
He had a solid campaign for the Pirates in 2025, aside from missing four months due to injury, with a 0.51 ERA over 17 appearances and 17.2 innings pitched, where he looked to get even better this year.
Lawrence struggled with his sinker and his fastball, with a .282 BAA and a 44.7% hard hit rate on his sinker and a .353 BAA and a 36.4% hard hit rate on his fastball.
His sweeper was also not effective as it was a season prior, as hitters did have 31.3% hard hit rate, but he still had effectiveness with it, amassing 18 of his 25 strikeouts on it.
Lawrence had a poor stretch from April 6-12, where he gave up eight runs and six earned runs over 3.2 innings pitched and four outings.
He pitched in two losses to the San Diego Padres at PNC Park, April 6 and 8, and played a role in the Chicago Cubs forcing the game into extra innings on April 11 at Wrigley Field, which the Pirates won, then gave up the tying run in the 7-6 loss to the Cubs on April 12.
Lawrence bounced back with seven straight scoreless outings, before giving up eight runs and four earned runs over four outings from May 8 to May 16.
His last outing came vs. the Cubs at PNC Park, a 10-4 loss on May 27, where he gave up two runs over two innings on a two-run home run to left fielder Ian Happ.
It ends a little more than a year between Lawrence originally joining the Pirates off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies and serves as a disappointing ending from a promising start for the reliever.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates!
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Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire Chief Darryl Jones is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal review, Pittsburgh Public Safety confirmed on Monday.
Sources say the allegation isn’t criminal in nature. The internal review stems from allegations against the chief involving his management of the fire bureau, sources say.
Assistant Chief Matt Davis will now step up as acting chief.
There is no timeline yet for how long Jones will be out on paid leave, but Pittsburgh’s Office of Municipal Investigations will conduct the internal review.
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