Matchups are funny things, but I didn't think I would have to tell a Capitals fan that . For example, coming out of the 2008-9 regular season, the Pens were the fifth seed in the East with 99 points. I guarantee with total and absolute certainty that if the Pens had to play against either Boston or NJ in the playoffs that year they would have lost, especially in an early round. They were not physical enough to beat Boston and not disciplined enough to beat NJ (and still aren't - even the current pathetic NJ team is a monumental challenge for the Pens, if not for anyone else). Fortunately Carolina, the sixth seed that year, took care of both (miraculously against NJ). They were wiped out by the time they made it to the conference finals and the Pens swept them. Of the top three seeds that year the one whom the Pens matched up against best was your Capitals, whom they beat in six in the second round. They are the only one of the top three Eastern seeds the Pens could have beaten that year.

Another example is the following season, 2009-10. Your Capitals finished first in the league with 121 points (one of the best regular season records ever). Most of the potential matchups favored them. Yet, the one they got was a Montreal Canadiens team, with Jaroslav Halak having a career year and a solid defensive system in front of him. He shut down the Russians in the Olympics that year, shutdown the mighty Capitals in the first round, and then shut down the defending champs, the Pens, in the second round. Unfortunately he came down to Earth in the conf. finals, allowing one of the luckiest and least talented teams ever to make it to the Stanley Cup finals (the Flyers that year). This put Pens fans in the unenviable position of having to cheer for Hossa to win his first Cup.

Winning the President's Trophy is all about who is the best overall team, on average, over the course of a regular season. Winning the playoffs is about winning four specific matchups. Teams need to be able to switch from being "good, in general" to being "good, against opponent x". Matchups, circumstances, and luck are thus major factors in the playoffs. Just because team x matches up good against team y and team y matches up good against team z it does not mean that team x matches up especially good against team z. In fact it could just be the opposite. This is proven just about every year (and then forgotten about before the start of the next year's playoffs) but is especially being proven this year.

Also note that I did not say necessarily that the Pens would beat the Capitals - just that they would have done better. They certainly couldn't have done any worse .
- PghPens668771

Why do you jabronies keep spewing on long garbage posts?

Why do you jabronies keep spewing on long garbage posts?
- Feds91Stammer

It’s really gotten out of hand.

It’s really gotten out of hand.
- Rinosaur

Like if you can't get your point across in 2 to 3 sentences you don't have a point to make.

Like if you can't get your point across in 2 to 3 sentences you don't have a point to make.
- Feds91Stammer

Pretty much.

They say the ability to be concise is a sign of intelligence.

Like if you can't get your point across in 2 to 3 sentences you don't have a point to make.
- Feds91Stammer

Spoken like a true college professor.

Spoken like a true college professor.
- Victoro311

Actually I am in need of a job.

Pretty much.

They say the ability to be concise is a sign of intelligence.
- Rinosaur

Didn’t you have a post with an intro followed by 1-6 last blog?

Actually I am in need of a job.
- Feds91Stammer

Didn’t you say you were moving to Greenville for work, or was that Boyde?

Why do you jabronies keep spewing on long garbage posts?
- Feds91Stammer

The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins are one of two NHL franchises in Pennsylvania, the other being the Philadelphia Flyers. The cities' proximity has led to a rivalry known as the "Battle of Pennsylvania". The club is owned by Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy.

The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original expansion from six to twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known as The Igloo, from the time of their inception through the end of the 2009–10 season, when they moved to the Consol Energy Center, which was later renamed PPG Paints Arena. The 1992–93 Penguins won the franchise's first-ever Presidents' Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. In addition to their eight division titles, they have qualified for six Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup five times – in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, and 2017. Along with the Edmonton Oilers, the Penguins are tied for the most Stanley Cup championships among non-Original Six teams and sixth overall. With their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins became the first back-to-back champions in 19 years (since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings) and the first team to do so since the introduction of the NHL salary cap. They also became the fifth team to accomplish this feat multiple times.

Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short break from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, and the Mellon family's Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure that Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million ($19.5 million today) for their entry and $750,000 ($5.6 million today) more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was then boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Pens also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors.

A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked "Penguins" as the nickname for the team. Mark Peters had the winning entry (which was inspired by the fact that the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena),[4][5] a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh."[4][6] The Penguins' first general manager, Jack Riley, opened the first pre-season camp for the franchise in Brantford, Ontario,[7] on September 13, 1967, playing the franchise's first exhibition match in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 1967. The Pens, along with the rest of the expansion teams, were hampered by restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing "Original Six" teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, All-Star defenseman Leo Boivin (who had begun his professional career with the Hornets) and Ranger veteran Earl Ingarfield, the first Penguins team was largely manned by a cast of former minor leaguers. A number of the players had played for the Hornets the previous season: Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the head coach for the club's first two seasons, and McDonald was named the team's first captain.

On October 11, 1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins' opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens.[3] On October 21, 1967, they became the first team from the expansion class to defeat an Original Six team, as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2. However, the Penguins went 27–34–13 and finished in fifth place in the West Division, missing the playoffs and ending with the third worst record in the league. The team's best player proved to be longtime Cleveland Barons AHL goaltender Les Binkley, who recorded a 2.88 goals against average and was second in the league in shutouts with six. Defensive winger Ken Schinkel won the team's sole league honor, being named to represent the Penguins in the NHL All-Star Game. Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points, but retired at season's end. McDonald, who led the team in goals and was second in team scoring, was also gone at season's end, traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for center Lou Angotti.

The next season, 1968–69, saw the team slip in the standings in the midst of a sharp drop in form by Binkley, into sixth place and with the league's worst record. Several changes were made to try to improve the team, resulting in Boivin and several others being traded, and new players—including longtime future Pens star Jean Pronovost—making their debuts. No captain was named to replace McDonald, and the team went with four alternate captains. Schinkel was again the team's lone All-Star.

Didn’t you say you were moving to Greenville for work, or was that Boyde?
- Victoro311

Yeah I am moving in just under a month but it isn't for work. It's to get the F out of Florida.

Didn’t you have a post with an intro followed by 1-6 last blog?
- WSCTeton17

My content amount wasn’t large or verbose. I laid my idea in bullet points.

The occasional two or three paragraph post is fine if you’re laying out an idea, but when those paragraphs could be two or three sentences vs. five or six, you’re doing too much.

The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins are one of two NHL franchises in Pennsylvania, the other being the Philadelphia Flyers. The cities' proximity has led to a rivalry known as the "Battle of Pennsylvania". The club is owned by Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle, who purchased the Penguins in 1999 and brought the club out of bankruptcy.

The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original expansion from six to twelve teams. The Penguins played in the Civic Arena, also known as The Igloo, from the time of their inception through the end of the 2009–10 season, when they moved to the Consol Energy Center, which was later renamed PPG Paints Arena. The 1992–93 Penguins won the franchise's first-ever Presidents' Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. In addition to their eight division titles, they have qualified for six Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup five times – in 1991, 1992, 2009, 2016, and 2017. Along with the Edmonton Oilers, the Penguins are tied for the most Stanley Cup championships among non-Original Six teams and sixth overall. With their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins became the first back-to-back champions in 19 years (since the 1997–98 Detroit Red Wings) and the first team to do so since the introduction of the NHL salary cap. They also became the fifth team to accomplish this feat multiple times.

Before the Penguins, Pittsburgh had been the home of the NHL's Pirates from 1925 to 1930 and of the American Hockey League Hornets franchise from 1936 to 1967 (with a short break from 1956 to 1961). In the spring of 1965, Jack McGregor, a state senator from Kittanning, began lobbying campaign contributors and community leaders to bring an NHL franchise back to Pittsburgh. The group focused on leveraging the NHL as an urban renewal tool for Pittsburgh. The senator formed a group of local investors that included H. J. Heinz Company heir H. J. Heinz III, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, and the Mellon family's Richard Mellon Scaife. The projected league expansion depended on securing votes from the then-current NHL owners; to ensure that Pittsburgh would be selected as one of the expansion cities, McGregor enlisted Rooney to petition votes from James D. Norris, owner of the Chicago Black Hawks, and his brother Bruce Norris, owner of the Detroit Red Wings. The effort was successful, and on February 8, 1966, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to Pittsburgh for the 1967–68 season. The Penguins paid $2.5 million ($19.5 million today) for their entry and $750,000 ($5.6 million today) more for start-up costs. The Civic Arena's capacity was then boosted from 10,732 to 12,500 to meet the NHL requirements for expansion. The Pens also paid an indemnification bill to settle with the Detroit Red Wings, which owned the Pittsburgh Hornets franchise. The investor group named McGregor president and chief executive officer, and he represented Pittsburgh on the NHL's Board of Governors.

A contest was held where 700 of 26,000 entries picked "Penguins" as the nickname for the team. Mark Peters had the winning entry (which was inspired by the fact that the team was to play in the "Igloo", the nickname of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena),
- jmatchett383[4][5] a logo was chosen that had a penguin in front of a triangle, which symbolized the "Golden Triangle" of downtown Pittsburgh."[4][6] The Penguins' first general manager, Jack Riley, opened the first pre-season camp for the franchise in Brantford, Ontario,[7] on September 13, 1967, playing the franchise's first exhibition match in Brantford against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 23, 1967. The Pens, along with the rest of the expansion teams, were hampered by restrictive rules which kept most major talent with the existing "Original Six" teams. Beyond aging sniper Andy Bathgate, All-Star defenseman Leo Boivin (who had begun his professional career with the Hornets) and Ranger veteran Earl Ingarfield, the first Penguins team was largely manned by a cast of former minor leaguers. A number of the players had played for the Hornets the previous season: Bathgate, wingers Val Fonteyne and Ab McDonald, and goaltenders Hank Bassen and Joe Daley. George Sullivan was named the head coach for the club's first two seasons, and McDonald was named the team's first captain.

On October 11, 1967, league president Clarence Campbell and McGregor jointly dropped the ceremonial first puck of the Penguins' opening home game against the Montreal Canadiens.[3] On October 21, 1967, they became the first team from the expansion class to defeat an Original Six team, as they defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2. However, the Penguins went 27–34–13 and finished in fifth place in the West Division, missing the playoffs and ending with the third worst record in the league. The team's best player proved to be longtime Cleveland Barons AHL goaltender Les Binkley, who recorded a 2.88 goals against average and was second in the league in shutouts with six. Defensive winger Ken Schinkel won the team's sole league honor, being named to represent the Penguins in the NHL All-Star Game. Bathgate led the team in scoring with 59 points, but retired at season's end. McDonald, who led the team in goals and was second in team scoring, was also gone at season's end, traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for center Lou Angotti.

The next season, 1968–69, saw the team slip in the standings in the midst of a sharp drop in form by Binkley, into sixth place and with the league's worst record. Several changes were made to try to improve the team, resulting in Boivin and several others being traded, and new players—including longtime future Pens star Jean Pronovost—making their debuts. No captain was named to replace McDonald, and the team went with four alternate captains. Schinkel was again the team's lone All-Star.

Quality poop post.

Didn’t you say you were moving to Greenville for work, or was that Boyde?
- Victoro311

Nope not me. I’m stickin in the sunshine state.

Quality poop post.
- Victoro311

All of my poops are quality poops.

All of my poops are quality poops.
- jmatchett383

Gotta have that balance of fiber and pro-biotics.

Gotta have that balance of fiber and pro-biotics.
- Rinosaur

In the 1969 draft the Penguins selected Michel Briere who although being chosen 26th soon was drawing comparisons to Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke. Joining the team in November, he finished as the second place rookie scorer in the NHL (behind Bobby Clarke) with 44 points (57th overall), and third on the Penguins. Briere placed second in Calder Memorial Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year honors to Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito in leading Pittsburgh to its first NHL playoff berth since the 1928 Pirates. The Penguins defeated the Oakland Seals in a four-game sweep in the quarter-finals, with Briere scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime. In the semi-final round, defending conference champions St. Louis Blues got the best of the Penguins during six games. Briere led the team in playoff scoring, recording five goals (including three game winners) and eight points. Tragedy struck the Penguins just days after their playoff heroics. On May 15, 1970, Briere was in a car crash in his native Quebec, suffering brain trauma and entering a coma from which he would never recover, dying a year later. His number 21 jersey was never reissued, remaining out of circulation for the Penguins until it was formally retired in 2001.

The next season the Penguins finished five games out of the playoffs with a 21–37–20 record, the fourth worst record in the league. Pittsburgh achieved a playoff berth in 1972 only to be swept by the Chicago Black Hawks in the first round. With the exception of a handful of decent players such as Ken Schinkel, Jean Pronovost, Syl Apps Jr., Keith McCreary, agitator Bryan Watson and goaltender Les Binkley, talent was otherwise thin, but enough for the Penguins to reach the playoffs in both 1970 and 1972. The Penguins battled the California Golden Seals for the division cellar in 1974, when Riley was fired as general manager and replaced with Jack Button. Button traded for Steve Durbano, Ab DeMarco, Bob "Battleship" Kelly and Bob Paradise. The personnel moves proved successful, as the team improved to a 28–41–9 record, although they remained nine points away from a playoff berth.

However, in early 1975, the Penguins' creditors demanded payment of back debts, forcing the team into bankruptcy. The doors to the team's offices were padlocked, and it looked like the Penguins might fold or relocate.[citation needed] Around the same time, rumors had begun to circulate that the Penguins and California Golden Seals were to be relocated to Seattle and Denver respectively, the two cities that were to have been the sites of an expansion for the 1976–77 season.[8] Through the intervention of a group that included former Minnesota North Stars head coach Wren Blair, the team was prevented from folding and remained in Pittsburgh, eventually being bought by shopping mall magnate Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Pittsburgh iced some powerful offensive clubs, led by the likes of the "Century Line" of Syl Apps, Lowell MacDonald and Jean Pronovost. They nearly reached the Stanley Cup semi-finals in 1975, but were ousted from the playoffs by the New York Islanders in one of the only four best-of-seven game series in NHL history where a team came back from being down three games to none. As the 1970s wore on, the Penguins brought in other offensive weapons such as Rick Kehoe, Pierre Larouche and Ron Schock, along with solid blue-liners Ron Stackhouse and Dave Burrows. But the Pens' success beyond the regular season was always neutralized by mediocre team defense. Goaltender Denis Herron was a stalwart in goal for parts of six seasons. Baz Bastien, a former coach and general manager of the AHL's Hornets, later became general manager. The Penguins missed the playoffs in 1977–78 when their offense lagged, and Larouche was traded for Peter Mahovlich and Peter Lee. Bastien traded prime draft choices for several players whose best years were already behind them, such as Orest Kindrachuk, Tom Bladon and Rick MacLeish, and the team would suffer in the early 1980s as a result. The decade closed with a playoff appearance in 1979 and a rousing opening series win over the Buffalo Sabres before a second-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins.

The Penguins began the 1980s by changing their team colors; in January 1980, the team switched from wearing blue and white to their present-day scheme of black and gold to honor Pittsburgh's other sports teams, the Pirates and the Steelers, as well as the Flag of Pittsburgh. Both the Pirates and Steelers had worn black and gold for decades, and both were fresh off world championship seasons at that time. The Bruins protested this color change, claiming a monopoly on black and gold, but the Penguins defended their choice by stating that the NHL Pirates also used black and gold as their team colors and that black and gold were Pittsburgh's traditional sporting colors. The NHL agreed and Pittsburgh was allowed to use black and gold. The Penguins officially debuted wearing black and gold against the St. Louis Blues at the Civic Arena on January 30, 1980.[9] On the ice, the Penguins began the 1980s with defenseman Randy Carlyle, and prolific scorers Paul Gardner and Mike Bullard, but little else.

During the early part of the decade, the Penguins made a habit of being a tough draw for higher-seeded opponents in the playoffs. In 1980, the 13th-seeded Penguins took the Bruins to the limit in their first round playoff series. The following season, as the 15th seed, they lost the decisive game of their first-round series in overtime to the heavily favored St. Louis Blues. Then, in the 1982 playoffs, the Penguins held a 3–1 lead late in the fifth and final game of their playoff series against the reigning champions, the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders rallied to force overtime and won the series on a goal by John Tonelli. It would be the Pens' final playoff appearance until 1989.

I don’t hate Philly’s coaching staff. I believe people can learn from their mistakes and I think Philly (assuming they make a splash this offseason) could certainly be a force next season

I don’t hate Philly’s coaching staff. I believe people can learn from their mistakes and I think Philly (assuming they make a splash this offseason) could certainly be a force next season
- WSCTeton17

That's one hell of a compliment.

That's one hell of a compliment.
- jmatchett383

Haha. I’m guessing most Flyers fans are upset. How about you?

Haha. I’m guessing most Flyers fans are upset. How about you?
- WSCTeton17

You arm your bench with 3 NHL failures. Can't be feeling too good about that.

Hindsight is always easiest but I actually think the Pens' best matchup was the Capitals. Without Trotz the Capitals have gotten away from a more strategic approach and are back to trying to win on pure talent alone.

Prove it.

You arm your bench with 3 NHL failures. Can't be feeling too good about that.
- Feds91Stammer

I guess that all depends on what you define as failure. Therrien, while I don’t think he’s a good coach, has had some decent success as an NHL coach, but obviously fell short.

AV did quite well with the Rangers, but I never felt they properly addressed certain types of personnel they needed to win it all.

Yeo? Yeah, he’s a failure. Lol

Actually I am in need of a job.
- Feds91Stammer

Why does this not surprise me.

I guess that all depends on what you define as failure. Therrien, while I don’t think he’s a good coach, has had some decent success as an NHL coach, but obviously fell short.

AV did quite well with the Rangers, but I never felt they properly addressed certain types of personnel they needed to win it all.

Yeo? Yeah, he’s a failure. Lol
- Rinosaur

Agreed. Therrien 375-284 record. Missed the playoffs three times in 9 full seasons, one was his first in Pitt.

AV is 648-435 finishing 1st in his division 7 times in 12 seasons with VAN/NYR. He went to the cup final twice

Wasn’t Yeo our assistant when we won in 2009? Maybe he’s just a better assistant and a HC. Yeo’s GM (Cliff Fletchers son) also got canned from MN and clearly was ok bringing him onboard in Philly

If Torts gets eliminated I no longer can find one thing to root for in this playoff. I’ll just be rooting against Marchand I guess.