Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (31-17-14, 76 points, 3rd place Metropolitan Division) @ Carolina Hurricanes (35-22-5, 75 points, 5th place Atlantic Division)
Pittsburg, PA
Residents remain divided on efficacy of police presence on South Side as new schedule begins
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh police are on the first weekend of a new schedule.
Officers are only working four days a week now, and weekend nights are when they get called the most.
A few Pittsburghers say they’ve seen a change in police presence and feel safer out and about, while others say it’s too late to fix public safety here and remember what once was.
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police announces operational changes that will go into effect next week
Numerous changes go into effect today for Pittsburgh Police, including reducing overnight staffing
The positive and negative sides of a four-day workweek
The South Side of Pittsburgh has always been known for its great time, food, and culture. In the last decade, there have been a lot of changes and many places have closed or moved.
“Yeah, it’s a day late and a dollar short; they should have been down here years ago,” said Pittsburgher Larry Cronkite. “People were doing things down here on the South Side that just weren’t fun anymore for the people that lived down here.”
“Just late at night, I feel like it’s not the safest area to be, especially at a young age,” resident Abigail Farmer said.
This is, in part, due to growing crime in the area. It’s why Pittsburgh police have been making an effort to be there, especially from midnight to 3 a.m., when bars let out.
“I mean, coming down here is fine, coming down with a family, but I would never on weekends want to come down a lot. We would much rather be going to the Lawrenceville area, which feels safer there most of the time,” Farmer added.
Cronkite, a longtime South Side resident, remembers how the South Side used to be.
“This is a great area down here, great old houses, great restaurants, and they just kind of forgot about it,” he said. “This is a place still until they can get the presence of the police down here to where it is not just a short-term thing, it is never going to go back to what it used to be and that’s a shame.”
However, Chris Davis is hoping to see improvement.
“Eventually, they’ll get it right, because they just increase police presence, stiffen penalties for people who do certain things, anything with a gun should be mandatory 10 years if you ask me.”
Farmer has this advice for anyone going out anywhere in the city.
“Being in groups, definitely not alone, staying together, not going anywhere alone.”
With added police downtown and a special unit focusing on gun violence, areas like the South Side are being approached differently, hoping to make it a safer place.
Pittsburg, PA
Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes 3/10/2026
How to Watch: Local broadcasts on FanDuel Sports Network South and SportsNet Pittsburgh, streaming on ESPN+
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are heading out West later this week to play some late-night games against the Vegas Golden Knights (Thursday, 10 p.m. ET), Utah Mammoth (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET) and Colorado Avalanche (Monday, 9:30 p.m. ET). Then it’s back for a rematch with the Hurricanes in North Carolina next Wednesday.
Opponent Track: The Hurricanes are still on top of the Metro, and they’ve won seven of their last nine, but they’re coming off a loss in Calgary that featured a wild five-goal third period last Saturday.
Season Series: The Penguins won this last matchup 5-1 on Dec. 30. Next up is that road game next Wednesday, followed four days later by a 3 p.m. ET Sunday matinee in Pittsburgh.
Hidden Stat: The Penguins haven’t won in Carolina since March 2019. The visitors are 0-4-4 in eight matchups over that span.
Getting to know the Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall – Logan Stankoven – Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
William Carrier – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin – Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Mike Reilly – Alexander Nikishin
Goalies: Brandon Bussi, Frederik Andersen
Potential scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere (day to day)
Injured Reserve: Charles-Alexis Legault, Pyotr Kochetkov, Nicolas Deslauriers
- Gostisbehere missed the Hurricanes’ Saturday loss to the Flames with a lower-body injury. Mike Reilly will likely slide out of this lineup if he is able to go.
- Nicolas Deslauriers has yet to make his Hurricanes debut since his trade from the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Canes decide to slot him into the lineup Monday night, he would slot into their fourth line.
- The Hurricanes have historically been a tough matchup for the Pens, but the Penguins could take some lessons from the Flames. Calgary got beaten on face-offs (52.5 percent to 47.5 percent) and 5-on-5 scoring chances (24 to 21) while holding strong on hits (26-20) and getting some nice saves from Dustin Wolf to claim a 5-4 win over the Canes on Saturday.

Egor Chinakhov – Rickard Rakell – Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Ville Koivunen
Elmer Soderblom – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard / Ilya Solovyov
Goalies: Arturs Silovs, Stuart Skinner
Potential Scratches: Evgeni Malkin (suspended), Ryan Graves, Connor Clifton, Kevin Hayes, Justin Brazeau (day to day)
IR: Sidney Crosby, Filip Hallander
- Jack St. Ivany is off IR. He’s headed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning loan, per Seth Rorabaugh.
- Justin Breazeau’s status is uncertain after he was sidelined against the Bruins on Sunday with a day-to-day upper-body injury.
- Today should also lead to more information on whether Sidney Crosby is joining the team for the upcoming five-game road trip. Dane Muse said Sunday that decision would be made after the matchup against the Boston Bruins.
- Evgeni Malkin is set to miss the third game of his five-game suspension tonight. He won’t be eligible to return until the Penguins rematch against the Hurricanes next week.
- It’s a milestone game for Kyle Dubas, who has served as general manager for 600 career games, per Pens PR. A win tonight would tie him with Steve Yzerman for the 14th-most wins through that milestone with 326 victories.
Pittsburg, PA
Steelers sign breakout star running back
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t done making moves on the first day of legal tampering. Per Jordan Schultz, the Steelers are signing former Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle. The South Carolina product rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, averaging just under five yards per rush in each season.
This comes after the Steelers were very active on unofficial beginning of the new league year. They traded for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr and also signed cornerback Jamel Dean. Internally, they re-signed cornerback Asante Samuel Jr and linebacker Cole Holcomb.
Dowdle now joins Jaylen Warren in the backfield, replacing Kenneth Gainwell, who left for Tampa Bay. On paper, this is one of the better one-two punches at running back in the NFL.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
Pittsburg, PA
Stanford meets Pittsburgh in ACC Tournament
Pittsburgh Panthers (12-19, 5-13 ACC) vs. Stanford Cardinal (20-11, 9-9 ACC)
Charlotte, North Carolina; Tuesday, 2 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Stanford faces Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament.
The Cardinal have gone 9-9 against ACC teams, with an 11-2 record in non-conference play. Stanford has a 3-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Panthers’ record in ACC games is 5-13. Pittsburgh has a 2-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
Stanford is shooting 43.7% from the field this season, 2.0 percentage points lower than the 45.7% Pittsburgh allows to opponents. Pittsburgh’s 43.6% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.0 percentage points lower than Stanford has given up to its opponents (45.6%).
The teams square off for the second time this season. Stanford won the last meeting 75-67 on Feb. 26. Ebuka Okorie scored 34 to help lead Stanford to the win, and Cameron Corhen scored 22 points for Pittsburgh.
TOP PERFORMERS: Okorie is scoring 23.1 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Cardinal. Benny Gealer is averaging 13.1 points and 1.7 steals over the past 10 games.
Corhen is scoring 13.1 points per game with 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Panthers. Barry Dunning Jr. is averaging 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinal: 6-4, averaging 77.9 points, 29.6 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.4 points per game.
Panthers: 3-7, averaging 64.2 points, 29.4 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.8 points.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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