The Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins preseason game planned for Saturday night has been postponed because of a mechanical issue with the Penguins’ charter flight, the Penguins announced.
The Penguins released a statement about the incident:
“The Pittsburgh Penguins regret that we were not able to travel to Detroit this afternoon as planned for our game against the Red Wings. Continued mechanical issues with our team plane were not able to be rectified and despite great effort, there was no method to travel to Detroit safely.
In a post on X, the Red Wings said, “further details regarding potential rescheduling of this game will be communicated when available.”
An update on tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/5HmXbOsYG5
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 28, 2024
The Penguins held a morning skate at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa., at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. A charter flight was scheduled for a mid-afternoon departure from a private airport in Moon Township, Pa. Penguins players, coaches, management and other staff members cleared security and boarded the plane around 3 p.m., but the flight never took off.
Around 5:30 p.m., the Red Wings announced on their social media platforms that the game, originally slated for 7 p.m., would begin around 8:30 p.m. The game ended up being postponed just before 7 p.m. ET.
Some fans posted on X that they were already in the arena when the final postponement happened.
But we are already here…. Sad faces. pic.twitter.com/YWUKYKAMTB
— B G (@chuckiechan17) September 28, 2024
The Penguins also acknowledged this in their statement: “We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to all fans, media, officials and the Red Wings who were already at Little Caesars Arena.”
The Penguins regularly travel on the day of preseason games. After facing the Red Wings, they were to depart Detroit for Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where they are scheduled to play the Ottawa Senators at Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday. That contest, the NHL’s annual preseason Kraft Hockeyville game, remains scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sunday night.
As for the Red Wings, they are already scheduled for preseason games on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this coming week.
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
