What’s new with the Pittsburgh Penguins? That’s what this page is all about.

The Team Spirit Line Change website begins where the Team Spirit books end.

That’s because hockey never stands still … And I can never squeeze everything I want into 48 pages!

Take a look at some of the Penguins collectibles I have in my home.

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Updates

2021-22 Season

Season Recap: The Penguins looked like a team on a mission after going up on the powerhouse New York Rangers 3 games to 1 in the playoffs. Pittsburgh fans were shocked when the club dropped the next three games in a row. A dozen Penguins scored in double-figures during the regular season, including Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, who combined for 71 goals and tied for the team lead with 84 points. Defenseman Christ Letang dished out 58 assists to lead the club, while goalie Tristan Jarry was honored with a trip to the All-Star Game.

February 15, 2022: Sidney Crosby scored the 500th goal of his career in a 5–4 win over the Flyers.

Season Preview: The Penguins begin the year with plenty of talent but a lot of questions, too. Is goalie Tristan Jarry the real deal? Will Evgeni Malkin recover from a serious knee injury? Will Sidney Crosby be able to pick up the scoring slack, as he has in the past? Pittsburgh fans will be watching the Penguins’ other stars—including Chris Letang and young Jake Guentzel—to see if they can become important team leaders. And they will also be waiting to see if the club’s goaltending improves.

2020-21 Season

Season Recap: The Penguins won 37 games and finished atop the Eastern Division and made the playoffs for the 15th year in a row. Sidney Crosby led the team with 24 goals and tied with Kris Letang 38 assists apiece. Tristan Jarry led the Pens with 25 wins in goal—the most in his career. Pittsburgh had visions of another Stanley Cup but ran into the red-hot Islanders in the postseason and did not survive the first round.

May 6, 2021: Veteran Jeff Carter scored four goals in a game for the first time in his career. Carter joined the Pens in an April trade with the LA Kings.

February 20, 2021: Superstar Sidney Crosby played in his 1,000th regular-season game.

Season Preview: After years of being slowed by injuries, the Penguins enter 2020–21 fully healthy. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are still two of the top offensive players in the game, while Kasperi Kapanen could be ready for a breakout season. The pressure will be on defenders Chris Letang and Marcus Pettersson, who no longer have veteran Matt Murray stopping pucks behind them.

2019-20 Season

Season Recap: The Penguins had a good regular season, but were upset by the Canadiens in the opening round of the playoffs. Evgeni Malkin led the club with 49 assists, while Bryan Rust was the top goal-scorer with 27. Sidney Crosby was third on the club with 47 points and defenseman Chris Letang was fourth, with 44.

Season Preview: Pittsburgh is still recovering from the first-round sweep by the Islanders in the playoffs last year. They head into battle without Phil Kessel, traded away over the summer. His scoring load will fall to Jake Guentzel, Dominik Kahun, and Alex Galchenyuk. They will all play second fiddle to the power duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who are still going strong in their 30s.

2018-19 Season

Season Recap: The Penguins won 44 games but were swept by the Islanders in the opening round of the playoffs. Sidney Crosby led the team with 100 points, but Jake Guentzel—in just his second full season—was Pittsburgh’s top goal scorer, with 40. Veterans Brian Dumoulin and Chris Letang were among the NHL’s best all-around defensemen, while goalie Matt Murray recovered from a concussion to win 29 games.

January 26, 2019: Sidney Crosby was named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game. He scored four goals and had four assists.

October 29, 2018: Sidney Crosby was named 1st Star of the Week after scoring 5 goals in 3 games.

Season Preview: A lot of fans were surprised that Pittsburgh didn’t make it three Stanley Cups in a row last spring. This season, the Penguins have as good a chance as anyone to hoist the big trophy. They have an amazing power play, led by Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin, and a solid defense that could get even better. Matt Murray battled injuries in 2017–18 and should be more dependable this year.

2017-18 Season

Season Recap: The high-scoring trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel powered the Pens to 47 victories. However, the club could not defend its 2017 Stanley Cup title against the Capitals in the playoffs. Defenseman Kris Letang also had a great year, recovering from neck surgery to notch 42 assists.

October 26, 2017: Phil Kessel’s overtime goal gave Pittsburgh a 2–1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. The goal was the 300th of Kessel’s career. He is one of just 18 American-born players in history to reach 300.

Season Preview: Pittsburgh lost a lot of key players after winning their second Stanley Cup in a row in 2017. That means they will rely on superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin more than ever. Antti Niemi should make up for the loss of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, but the Penguins need to play extra-hard and use their skill and experience to make it back to the finals.

2015-16 Season

Season Recap: The Penguins went into the season with lots of scoring punch but with big questions on defense. They pulled together at playoff time and made a remarkable run to win the Stanley Cup. Sidney Crosby, an elite player, dug down deep in the finals against San Jose and played the kind of relentless, gritty hockey that wins championships. Key goals in the series came from unheralded Nick Bonino, Conor Sheary, Eric Fehr and Kris Letang. It was a total team effort, with “Sid the Kid” taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP.

Season Preview: Pittsburgh fans are still getting over their first-round playoff loss in the spring of 2015. Since then the team has added talent and depth, including Phil Kessel, who gives Sidney Crosby an exciting new partner on the #1 line. The Penguins wll be counting on a young group of defensemen to stand up to the bullies who go after Crosby and the other scorers.

2014-15 Season

Recap: he Penguins lacked their usual explosive scoring touch, but they still managed to earn a playoff berth with solid seasons from Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Marc-Andre Fleury. The team had plenty of star power but not a lot of quality down the bench. It showed in the opening round of the playoffs, when they fell to the Rangers in five games.

November 11, 2014: Marc-Andre Fleury collected his 300th win in just his 547th NHL game. Only three other goalies in history reached 300 wins faster.

Season Preview: Will the Penguins make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014–15? Pittsburgh fans certainly think so. They have the most star power in the East, thanks to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury. They will no longer be playing for coach Dan Bylsma, who was fired after the team’s poor playoff performance last spring. The new coach is Mike Johnston.

2013-14 Season

April 13, 2014: Sidney Crosby won the NHL scoring championship, topping 100 points for the fifth time in his career. Crosby was the only player in the league to reach triple-digits in 2013–14.

Season Preview: Pittsburgh fans were disappointed with the team’s loss to the Bruins in the 2013 playoffs. Nothing short of a return trip to the Finals will satisfy them this year. As always, the players expected to lead the Penguins there will be Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury, who hopes to rebound from a poor postseason and win 30 games for the fifth time in six years.

More Go-To Guys

Dave Burrows looks like a fashion model in this souvenir photo, doesn’t he? Great hair! (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Joe Mullen played street hockey just a few blocks from Madison Square Garden in New York. He became a star for the Blues and Flames before helping the Penguins win a pair of Stanley Cups. (The Upper Deck Company)

  • Les Binkley — Goalie
    Born: 6/6/1934
    Played for Team: 1967–68 to 1971–72
    Les Binkley was one of many fine minor-leaguers to get a shot at the NHL when the league expanded from six teams to 12. In two of his five seasons with Pittsburgh, he allowed fewer than three goals per game. Binkley stayed with the team as a scout after his playing days, and helped develop several players who were members of the 1991 and 1992 championship teams.

  • Ron Schock — Center
    Born: 12/19/1943
    Played for Team: 1969–70 to 1976–77
    Ron Schock was a good passer and shooter who became an important team leader. In 1974–75, he was named captain of the Penguins and had his finest seasons, with 63 assists—good for seventh in the league. All six players ahead of him ended up in the Hall of Fame.

  • Dave Burrows — Defenseman
    Born: 1/11/1949
    Played for Team: 1971–72 to 1980–81
    Dave Burrows had his boyhood dream come true when he got to play alongside Hall of Famer Tim Horton during Horton’s one year with the Penguins. Horton and coach Red Kelly helped Burrows become a three-time All-Star.

  • Paul Coffey — Defenseman
    Born: 6/1/1961
    Played for Team: 1987–88 to 1991–92
    Paul Coffey was a key part of Pittsburgh’s 1991 Stanley Cup championship. In 1990, he became just the second defenseman to reach 1,000 points, and he did so in just 770 games. In his final season as a Penguin, he passed Denis Potvin as the all-time leader in career goals and assists by a defenseman.

  • Joe Mullen — Forward
    Born:2/26/1957
    Played for Team: 1990–91 to 1994–95 & 1996–97
    Joe Mullen and his brothers learned the game playing roller hockey on the streets of New York City. He joined the Penguins at age 33 and went on to score more than 150 goals for Pittsburgh. Mullen was the first American-born player to reach 500 goals and 1,000 assists in his career.

  • Marc-Andre Fleury — Goalie
    Born: 11/28/1984
    Played for Team: 2005–06 to 2016–17
    Marc-Andre Fleury was the first overall pick in the 2003 draft. Two years later, he won the starting job in Pittsburgh. His save with 1.5 seconds left in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals made him a hero for the ages among Penguins fans.

  • James Neal — Left Wing
    Born: 9/3/1987
    Played for Team: 2010–11 to 2013–14
    James Neal brought one of the league’s best slapshots to Pittsburgh after a trade with the Dallas Stars. He scored 40 goals in his first full year with the Penguins.

  • Chris Letang — Defenseman
    Born: 4/24/1987
    First Season with Team: 2006–07
    On a team full of superstars and Hall of Famers, Chris Letang slowly and quietly became one of the Penguins’ most dependable players. He played a key part in Pittsburgh’s 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cups.

More Fun Facts

Ron Schock still looks like he can’t believe he’s a Penguin on this card! (Topps, Inc.)

  • NOW YOU SEE HIM
    When Les Binkley opened the season for the Penguins in 1967–68, he became the first NHL goalie to play with contact lenses.

  • SCHOCK VALUE
    During a sports dinner in 1969, Ron Schock was asked where he’d least like to be traded. One of the places he named was Pittsburgh. Two days later, Schock was a member of the Penguins!

  • STREET WISE
    Joe Mullen grew up in the shadow of Madison Square Garden, where his father worked on the Rangers’ ice crew. He and his brothers used the team’s old hockey sticks and in schoolyard roller hockey games. Coach Emile Francis saw the boys playing and decided to create a junior hockey program in the city. Mullen learned to skate in the program and went on to become a three-time Stanley Cup champion.

League Leaders

Hey … look who wrote this book! (Millbrook Press/Lerner Publishing)

This 2011 card of Evgeni Malkin was made to look like a card from the early 1900s…except for the grunge shirt and haircut. (The Upper Deck Company)

  • GOALS
    1987–88 — Mario Lemieux — 70
    1988–89 — Mario Lemieux — 85
    1995–96 — Mario Lemieux — 69
    2009–10 — Sidney Crosby — 51*
    2016–17 — Sidney Crosby — 44

    * Tied with another player

  • ASSISTS
    1988–89 — Mario Lemieux — 114
    1994–95 — Ron Francis — 48
    1995–96 — Ron Francis — 92, Mario Lemieux — 92
    1996–97 — Mario Lemieux — 72*
    1997–98 — Jaromir Jagr — 67*
    1998–99 — Jaromir Jagr — 83
    2000–01 — Jaromir Jagr — 69*
    2008–09 — Evgeni Malkin — 78
    2013–14 — Sidney Crosby — 68

    * Tied with another player

  • POINTS
    1987–88 — Mario Lemieux — 168
    1988–89 — Mario Lemieux — 199
    1991–92 — Mario Lemieux — 131
    1992–93 — Mario Lemieux — 160
    1994–95 — Jaromir Jagr — 70
    1995–96 — Mario Lemieux — 161
    1996–97 — Mario Lemieux — 122
    1997–98 — Jaromir Jagr — 102
    1998–99 — Jaromir Jagr — 127
    1999–00 — Jaromir Jagr — 96
    2000–01 — Jaromir jagr — 121
    2008–09 — Evgeni Malkin — 113
    2011–12 — Evgeni Malkin — 109
    2013–14 — Sidney Crosby — 104

  • GOALS-AGAINST
    No Penguin has led the NHL in this statistic

  • PLUS/MINUS
    1992–93 — Mario Lemieux — + 55
    1994–95 — Ron Francis — + 30
    2012–13 — Pascal Dupuis — + 31
    2012–13 — Pascal Dupuis — +31

In the Stanley Cup Finals

This Wheaties box celebrates the team’s 1991 Stanley Cup. (General Mills, Inc.)

SEASON OPPONENT RESULT
1990–91 Minnesota North Stars Won 4–2
1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks Won 4–0
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings Lost 2–4
2008–09 Detroit Red Wings Won 4–3
2015–16 San Jose Sharks Won 4–2
2016–17 Nashville Predators Won 4–2

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