The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League (the NHL). The Pittsburgh Penguins play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference with four other teams: the New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders.  Penguins tickets will be a hot item during the 2009-2010 NHL hockey schedule.

Pittsburgh Penguins 2009-2010 Outlook

The Pittsburgh Penguins look to defend their Stanley Cup title and make it a 3rd consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Finals with another solid hockey campaign during the 2009-2010 NHL schedule.  From 2001 through 2006 (not counting the 2004-2005 season which was eliminated because of the NHL lockout), the Pittsburgh Penguins did not qualify for post-season play.  But with the acquisition of up-and-coming superstar Sidney Crosby and a few key additions here and there, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the top teams in the NHL for the last 2 years.  The Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 6 games in the 2007-2008 Stanley Cup Finals, but avenged that loss with a magnificent Stanley Cup title run last season by defeating the Red Wings in 7 games with a dramatic 2-1 victory in Detroit.  The Penguins became the 1st team since the 1971 Montreal Canadiens to win a Stanly Cup title in a Game 7 on the road.  Incredible.

The Penguins look to build of their 1st Stanley Cup title since back-to-back titles in 1990-1991 and 1991-1992 with more inspired play this season.  Young goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has emerged as a legitimate NHL goaltenders in only a few seasons in the league.  Newly acquired goalie Brent Johnson should also be able to take a little bit of the pressure off of Fleury.  The Penguins have 3 of the best centers in the NHL today - Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.  If the Penguins can get additional offensive pop from wingers Bill Guerin, Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis, they could be tough to stop.  Defensemen Sergei Gonchar, Alex Goligoski and Brooks Orpik provide steady consistent play inside their own zone to make things that much easier for Fleury and Johnson.  Head Coach Dan Bylsma will continue to work on team oriented defense and consistent focus through the long NHL season.  If the team can avoid any significant injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the talent to become an NHL dynasty for years to come.  A shot at a repeat 2009-2010 Stanley Cup title is not out of the questions for this talented young team.  Get your Penguins hockey tickets at Mellon Arena before it's too late.

History

The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise was founded in Pittsburgh in 1967 as part of the 1967 NHL expansion in which the league doubled its size by adding 6 additional teams to the original 6 NHL teams.  In addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL issued invitations to the California Seals (a now-defunct franchise), the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the Philadelphia Flyers and the St. Louis Blues.  The Pittsburgh Penguins did not qualify for post-season play in its first 2 seasons in the NHL.  During the 1969-1970 NHL season, the team recorded 64 points and advanced to the playoffs for the 1st time in franchise history, defeating the California Seals in the quarterfinals round of the playoffs.  From 1969 through the 1989-1990 NHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins never won more than 1 series in any given NHL post-season run.  But following the 1990-1991 NHL season, the fortunes shined on the city of Pittsburgh.  Superstar Mario Lemieux could always be counted on for solid play all season long, but the franchise finally provided him with a solid core group of role players – Paul Coffey, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rob Brown, John Cullen, Mark Recchi, and Bryan Trottier – that made the Pittsburgh Penguins the best team in the NHL.  The Pittsburgh Penguins recorded 88 points during the 1990-1991 NHL season and cruised through the NHL playoffs to advance to the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup Finals.  The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars 4-2 to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Title.  The Pittsburgh Penguins recorded 87 points during the 1991-1992 NHL season and cruised through the NHL playoffs to advance to the franchise second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.  The Pittsburgh Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks to win back-to-back Stanley Cup Titles.  The Pittsburgh Penguins recorded a franchise-record 119 points during the 1992-1993 NHL season, but lost to the New York Islanders in a hotly contested 7-game series in the Division Finals.  The Pittsburgh Penguins advanced to post-season play every year from 1990 through 2001, but only advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals twice. 

The future looks bright for the Pittsburgh Penguins following the drafting of Sidney Crosby in the 2005 NHL draft.  Crosby became the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points during the 2005-2006 NHL season.  In 2006, the Pittsburgh Penguins also acquired young Russian goal-scorer Evgeni Malkin.  The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to rebuild with youth while adding experienced veterans in key positions, and look poised to remain a team to contend with for many years to come. 
The Pittsburgh Penguins have retired the following players’ numbers: Michel Briere’s #21 (retired on January 5, 2001); & Mario Lemieux's #66 (retired on October 5, 2006).

Pittsburgh Penguins TV/Radio

All Pittsburgh Penguins hockey games can be seen on the Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh television network in the greater Pittsburgh area.  ESPN has television rights to Pittsburgh Penguins hockey games based on the popularity of the game. Tune into the Pittsburgh Penguins flagship radio networks WBGG 970 on your AM dial and WXDX 105.9 on your FM dial to catch each Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game on the radio.

The Pittsburgh Penguins play their home games in Mellon Arena.  Mellon Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In addition to hosting all Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Hockey games, Mellon Arena also hosts all of the professional basketball games for the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the Continental Basketball Association.  Mellon Arena holds a capacity of 16,958 devoted die-hard Pittsburgh Penguins fans and is the oldest arena in the NHL.  Because of its age, there has been a significant movement for a new arena to be built in downtown Pittsburgh to replace Mellon Arena.  In March 2007, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh and the State of Pennsylvania entered into an agreement to construct a new Pittsburgh Arena to be ready for the start of the 2010-2011 NHL season.  Currently, that timetable still looks good for the completion of the new arena.  It has played host to numerous memorable and historic games, concerts and events during its 47-year history, including the 1990 NHL All-Star Game (in which home-town favorite Mario Lemieux scored 4 goals), the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in 1991 and 1992 (the Pittsburgh Penguins won both series), 1995 WWF’s SummerSlam, 1998 WWF’s King of the Ring, 2001 WWE’s Unforgiven, 2005 WWE’s No Way Out and WWE’s 2007 annual Armageddon event.  Memorable concert performances include performances by Alice Cooper in 1971, Led Zeppelin in 1970 and 1975 and Genesis in 2007.

Stadium:                Mellon Arena
                                66 Mario Lemieux Place
                                Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219

http://penguins.nhl.com
www.mellonarena.com

2008 Penguins