Today in Penguins History (11/22/72)

Today in Penguins history, the team set the NHL record for scoring the fastest five goals in a 10-4 win over the St. Louis Blues, and that record still holds to this day, with very few challengers.

After having been beat in their previous meeting against the Blues, the Penguins put on a goal scoring clinic in front of the home crowd at the Civic Arena that night.  It was a back and forth game through most of the first and second periods.  A goal by Blues' Fran Huck early in the third put St. Louis up 4-3, triggering something special.


With goals by Al McDonough, Greg Polis, Bryan Hextall, Jean Pronovost, McDonough again for the hat trick, Ken Schinkel, and Ron Schock all within 2:07, the Penguins etched their names (most likely temporarily) in the history books.  The only teams to come close were the Bruins in 1974 with five in 2:55 and the Islanders in 1982 (strangely enough against the Penguins) with five in 2:37 seconds. 

Today In Penguins History (10/14/1982)

There has been a long history of deep seeded hatred between the New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Here's some proof.  On this day in 1982, the Penguins and Islanders had an epic battle...literally...with the Isles trouncing the Pens 9-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

Why post this in an otherwise, generally positive Penguins feature?  This game saw a record number of penalty minutes at 233.  That's right.  233 Penalty Minutes!!! 

The first period was nothing out of the ordinary other than two goals by Butch Goring (who would later get the hat trick) and a few run of the mill minor penalties.  But then things started to heat up.  Pittsburgh's Marc Chorney took an interference call about two minutes into the second and the chippiness started to escalate.  Two minutes later, a fight broke out between Pittsburgh's Pat Price and NY's Duane Sutter, instigated by Price but finished by Sutter.  Despite the effort, this did nothing to light a fire and bring any momentum to the Pens game.

Five goals were scored by the Islanders in the second period, all within six and a half minutes of each other, all by five different players.  Nothing could keep them off of the scoreboard.  Kevin McClelland tried once again to spark something on the Pens bench by battling Stefan Persson at the ten minute mark.  Still nothing seemed to work.

With only four minutes left in the third period, and already down 9-0, a melee broke out.  Pat Price grabbed Duane Sutter for a second go around.  At the same time, Randy Carlyle battled with Brent Sutter, assisted by Doug Shedden.  The Penguins' Marc Chorney jumped off the bench and joined Doug Lecuyer and Kevin McClelland in battling a pile of Islanders that included exchanging blows with Clark Gillies.

In the end, the score remained the same at 9-0 and it was the worst loss the Penguins have had to date with the "other" NY club.  After all was said and done, the game ended with the Penguins being assessed 125 PIMs, while the Islanders were caged for 108 PIMs.

I'll just leave the stat line of PIMs down here so you can see the carnage for yourself.

Today in Penguins History (10/11/1984)

1985-86 Topps Mario Lemieux RC

On this date in 1984, Mario Lemieux, future HOFer, future team owner, and overall savior of hockey in Pittsburgh (not once, but twice), scored his first goal...on his first shift on the ice in a Pens sweater...on his first shot.

Today in Penguins History (10/5/1982)

On this day in 1982, the Penguins played their first game against the new franchise in New Jersey.  Not only was this the first time Pittsburgh visited the Brendan Byrne Arena, but it was also the first regular season game to be played in Newark.  The teams skated to a 3-3 tie when all was said and done.

Goals were first scored by Don Lever (the first ever by a Devil), followed by another tally by Hector Marini.  The Penguins would answer with three goals, two from Rick Kehoe (including a power play goal 13 seconds into the third to take the lead) and another from Pat Boutette.  The game was capped by a goal from Merlin Malinowski to tie it.


But ultimately I think the six goals were overshadowed by the amount of penalties in the game.  There were 16 penalties dished out which included a total of 38 minutes; 19 for the Pens and 19 for the Devils.  This also included a fight between Pat Price and John Wensick.

Today in Penguins History (9/13/1974)

On this day in 1974, at the start of training camp, the Pittsburgh Penguins made what would become a huge deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Penguins acquired disgruntled Rick Kehoe in exchange for Blaine Stoughton and a 1st round draft pick in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft, which became Trevor Johansen at the 12th pick.  Stoughton had been the Penguins 1st round pick in 1973 (as well as the 2nd round pick of the Nordiques in the WHA draft) and only played 34 games that season for the Pens. 

Today in Penguins History (6/16/1990)

On this date in 1990, exactly 30 years ago, the Penguins selected future HOFer and hockey ironman, Jaromir Jagr in the first round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.  Jagr was the fifth pick in the draft and became the first Czech player to be drafted without first defecting to North America.  As the Soviet structure was collapsing in Europe, the stranglehold on travel and relocation began to loosen.  Upon the encouragement of his native government, Jagr was actually able to be in attendance at the Draft in Vancouver and relocate to Pittsburgh without difficulty.

This was great for the Penguins as his presence on a line with Mario Lemieux and Ron Francis helped the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 90-91 and 91-92.  Jaromir went on to play 11 seasons with the Penguins and is considered one of the best Pittsburgh forwards of all time.  Just look at his team records...

• Most single-season points by a right wing – 149
• Most single-season assists by a right wing – 87
• Most single-season assists by a European-born player – 87
• Most single-season power-play goals by a European-born player – 20
• Most single-season game-winning goals – 12
• Most single-season shots on goal – 403
• Most career points by a right wing – 1079
• Most career points by a European-born player – 1079
• Most career goals by a right wing – 439
• Most career goals by a European-born player – 439
• Most career assists by a right wing – 640
• Most career assists by a European-born player – 640
• Most career playoff game-winning goals – 78
• Most career power-play goals by a right wing – 110
• Most career power-play goals by a European-born player – 110

• Most career shorthanded goals by a European-born player – 9
• Most career overtime goals – 9
• Most career game-tying goals – 10
• Most career shots on goal by a right wing – 2911
• Most career shots on goal by a European-born player – 2911
• Most career playoff goals by a right wing – 65
• Most career playoff goals by a European-born player – 65

• Most career playoff points by a right wing – 147
• Most career playoff points by a European-born player – 147
• Most career playoff shorthanded goals by a right wing – 2 (tied with Ed Olczyk)
• Most career playoff shorthanded goals by a European-born player – 2
• Most career playoff game-winning goals – 14
• Most career playoff overtime goals – 4
• Most career playoff shots on goal – 461
• Most career playoff power-play goals by a right wing – 19
• Most career playoff power-play goals by a European-born player – 19

***from the Jaromir Jagr wikipedia page

Today In Penguins History (6/1/1992)

On this day in 1992, the brooms were out in Pittsburgh as the defending Stanley Cup champions completed a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks.  The 6-5 victory capped off a series that saw the Blackhawks in the finals for the first time since 1973.

Today In Penguins History (5/25/1991)

On this day in 1991, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars, 8-0 in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  This sealed the deal for the series and earned the Penguins their first-ever franchise championship.  They would later go on to repeat the following season.

Today in Penguins History: 4-17-2006 The Kid Gets 100

 

On this day in 2006, Sidney Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season.  At just 18, he had three assists against the New York Islanders to put him over the top for this outstanding record.  He assisted, along with Ryan Whitney, on Andy Hilbert's goal in the first period to open the scoring.  With a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period, he helped out on the goal by Tomas Surovy (along with Colby Armstrong).  Then, later in the period, he picked up another assist on Ryan Malone's second goal of the game, a power play goal also assisted by John LeClair. 

The Penguins went on to score two more goals in the third period by Josef Melichar and Ryan Whitney, winning the game 6-1.  From a franchise standpoint, Crosby became only the second rookie to ever do that in a Penguins uniform.  The other...Mario Lemieux.

Today In Penguins History: 4/13/1991 THE SAVE

Today in Penguins history, the franchises first Stanley Cup victory was assured by the quick glove of Frank Pietrangelo. 

Frank hadn't played very much all season long and was thrown into, as Mike Lange called it, "A Pressure Cooker Situation" after Tom Barrasso went down with an injury.  This was his first playoff game ever, with his team facing elimination in game 6 of Round 1 versus the New Jersey Devils. 

Pittsburgh had a 1 goal lead going into the third period and Pietrangelo was being abused with shot after shot.  As Slava Fetisov took a shot stick side on Pietrangelo, Peter Stastny came up the glove side with an eye on potting a rebound.  Frank played the initial shot but couldn't hang on and was caught out of the crease as the puck caromed directly to Stastny's stick. Game over? Not quite.

Diving across the goal mouth, Pietrangelo caught the puck in his Heaton-model trapper, gloving Stastny's shot out of mid air, and the Pens hung on for the win.  He then went on to start game 7, shutting out the Devils and helping the Pens march on toward their first Stanley Cup.  "The Save" as it has affectionately become known to Pens fans, will go down as one of the biggest in franchise history.

Today in Pittsburgh Penguins HIstory: 4/10/1993

On this day in 1993, the Penguins won their NHL record 17th consecutive game in a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.  That record still stands today, with the only team coming close, at 16 games, being the 2016-17 Columbus Blue Jackets.

Today In Penguins History: 3/30/89

On this day in 1989, Mario Lemieux scored his 9th hat trick of the season, which was one shy of the NHL record.  In a game that was riddled with penalties (44 minutes dished out total), not much defense could be found either.

Today In Pittsburgh Penguins History: 3/19/88

On this day in 1988, the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 at home.  Beating the Flyers was not as big of a deal other than the fact that seven DIFFERENT players scored the goals. That's right. SEVEN players.  Total individual stat line has over 20 points.

Today in Penguins History (3/3/1971)

1970-71 O-Pee-Chee Les Binkley (front)

On this day in 1971, Les Binkley became the all time leader in career shutouts for the Penguins, recording his 11th at home versus the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-0 win.  Keeping in mind the Penguins had only been in existence for a couple years doesn't make this seem like much of a feat...

Today in Penguins History (12/17/2011)

Today in 2011 marked milestones for a number of players on the Penguins roster.  In a home game at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins skated to an 3-8 win over the Buffalo Sabres.  But that wasn't the highlight of the evening as a few feats were completed.

1.  Current KHLer, Simon Despres scored his first NHL goal of his career, a power play goal at that, making the game 0-2 Penguins in the first and assisted by Jason Williams and Tyler Kennedy. 

2.  Evgeni Malkin scored his 7th NHL hat trick with his third goal, a power play goal, coming midway through the third period.  Malkin scored his 12th hat trick mid way through the 2018-19 season (he has two others in the playoffs).

3.  With the 3-8 victory over Buffalo, Marc-Andre-Fleury earned his 200th win of his career, with 16 saves on 19 shots.  As of this posting, he has 452 all time regular season wins.

4.  Brooks Orpik picked up his 100th point in the NHL, assisting on Evgeni Malkin's first goal of the game in the first period. Not known for his scoring prowess, Orpik would put 15 more apples on the board that year.

5.  This game marked the 700th NHL game for Pascal Dupuis and with his assist on Deryk Engelland's goal in the second period, he also notched his 300th career point.  He finished his career with 871 games and 409 points, retiring in 2015 due to complications with blood clots. 

6.  Carl Sneep recorded his first point with the assist on Evgeni Malkin's second goal of the game in the first period.  Interestingly enough, this would also be his last point.  Sneep never played another NHL game for the Penguins, or any team for that matter.

Today in Penguins History (12/2/25)

While this wasn't necessarily a Penguins historical event, it was historical nonetheless.  On this day in 1925, the first NHL game ever to take place in the city of Pittsburgh happened.  The Pittsburgh Pirates lost in overtime to the New York Americans, 2-1.  Back then, the team played at the old Duquesne Gardens in Oakland (a city neighborhood for those not familiar with the Burgh).  When you don't have the means, you make due.  The Gardens was not an entertainment venue at all, but rather a trolley barn that had been converted to hold about 5,000 people.  

Today In Penguins History (11/26/1991)

"It's A Great Day For Hockey"

1990-91 Pro Set Bob Johnson NHL Coach

That's been a mantra of the Pittsburgh Penguins since "Badger Bob" took the helm behind the bench in the 1990-91 season.  On this (sad) day in Penguins history, Bob Johnson passed away from brain cancer that had gone un-diagnosed until three months earlier when he suffered a brain aneurysm while working with Team USA in preparation for the Canada Cup tournament.  Scotty Bowman took over coaching the team, eventually leading them to their second and consecutive Stanley Cup victory.  But Bob Johnson's legacy would live on in Pittsburgh and the world of hockey forever.

Today in Penguins History (11/7/93)

Hockey fans, especially those in southern California, will probably remember the first game played by the Ducks on October 8, 1993 against the Detroit Red Wings.  But on this day in 1993, the newly created Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played their very 1st NHL game against the mighty Penguins.

Today in Penguins History 10/18/2014

Today in Penguins history back in 2014, Sidney Crosby scored his 500th NHL assist on home ice against the New York Islanders.  The Penguins won the game 3-1 at Consol and Crosby was the first star of the game.

Today in Penguins History (10/11/67)

1988-89 Panini Sticker #322

On this day in Penguins history, the first ever game by the newly christened expansion Pittsburgh Penguins was played at the Civic Arena.  While not part of the Original 6 franchises, the Penguins were one of the Next 6 brought into the league to start the 1967-68 season.