PITTSBURGH (AP) — Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed Saturday night’s game against San Jose with an illness.
Letang missed his second consecutive game because of an illness, as he did not play in Pittsburgh’s 6-2 loss at Columbus on Friday. Letang has two goals and four assists in 18 games.
Defenseman Owen Pickering, Pittsburgh's first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut on Saturday.
Forward Vasily Ponomarev also played his first game with the Penguins on Saturday. Ponomarev was one of the pieces acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes for Jake Guentzel on March 7. A second-round pick in 2020, Ponomarev has two points in two NHL games.
The Penguins are 6-10-3 and have been outscored 16-5 during their current three-game losing streak. They traded veteran forward Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday following an ugly 7-1 home defeat against Dallas, in which Pittsburgh allowed six first-period goals.
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang reacts after missing his shot during a shootout in an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. The Islanders won 4-3 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo shouldn't have been called for a foul against LaMelo Ball on Saturday, referees determined, agreeing with Bucks coach Doc Rivers' criticism of the play that gave the Charlotte Hornets the eventual winning points in a 115-114 victory over Milwaukee.
With the Hornets trailing by one, Ball drove the right side of the lane and appeared to slip and fall. Replays didn’t appear to show any contact, but Antetokounmpo was whistled for the foul with 7.3 seconds left. Ball made both free throws to give Charlotte the lead.
“I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call,” Rivers said. “This is back-to-back games now where on the final play there has been an incorrect call made.”
The Bucks did not have a challenge left. If they had, the call would have been overturned on replay, crew chief Curtis Blair said afterward.
“During live play we called illegal leg-to-leg contact,” Blair said. “During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play.”
Antetokounmpo’s jumper at the buzzer rimmed out and the Hornets escaped with the win.
A similar scenario occurred earlier this week against the Detroit Pistons when Antetokounmpo was whistled for a phantom call with a second left in regulation and the score tied at 111.
But in that game, Pistons forward Ron Holland II missed two free throws and the game went into overtime and the Bucks prevailed 127-120 behind 59 points from Antetokounmpo.
“LaMelo Ball fell,” Rivers said. “He just fell down. Nobody was near him. He slipped on his own. We come up with the ball and the game is over. So back-to-back games now we have had a call made against us that is incorrect. We were lucky in Detroit the kid missed two free throws. Tonight LaMelo Ball made the free throws."
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Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers reacts to a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
