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2018.19 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS SEASON-IN-REVIEW GUIDE [This page was left blank intentionally.] pittsburghpenguins.com 2018.19 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS SEASON-IN-REVIEW Table of Contents 2018.19 Regular-Season Review . 5 2019 Playoff Recap . .39 2018.19 Penguins Players. 53 Playoff History . 125 2018.19 REGULAR-SEASON REVIEW pittsburghpenguins.com 2018.19 Regular-Season Review • 6 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 2018.19 NOTES SEASON SUMMARY year tied for fifth in the NHL in points, the ninth time he’s done Extended winning AND losing streaks were the norm for most so. Only Gordie Howe (20 times) and Wayne Gretzky (16 times) National Hockey League teams during the 2018-19 campaign, have accomplished that more often in NHL history. Crosby is tied including the Pittsburgh Penguins. But when all was said and for third on that list with Mario Lemieux, Maurice Richard, Andy done, the Penguins used a strong finish to the regular season to Bathgate and Stan Mikita. compile a 44-26-12 record (100 points) that extended the club’s Crosby remained prolific offensively while earning praise for franchise-record streak of consecutive postseason appearances an outstanding 200-foot game that had him in the conversation to 13. for the Selke Trophy. At season’s end, in addition to ranking near Pittsburgh’s playoff streak represents the longest active the top of several advanced stats lists, Crosby was plus-18, and postseason streak among all NHL teams. Since the 1967 NHL his 55.4% faceoff success rate was the second-highest figure of Expansion, the Penguins’ playoff streak is tied for the 10th-longest his career. run of any club. In late April, Crosby was named one of three finalists for the The Pens have now hit the 100-point mark 10 times in the Hart Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL’s most valuable player. 12 full seasons during their playoff streak (excludes the lockout It marked the third time in four years, and fifth time in the past campaign). Since the streak began in 2006-07, the Pens have seven seasons that Crosby was a finalist for the award. more wins (605) and points (1,315) than any NHL team. San Crosby’s excellence this year earned him the team’s MVP Jose sits in second place in both categories with 594 and 1,301, award for the eighth time. Only Lemieux (12 times) has earned respectively. that distinction more often. His teammates chose Crosby as the The Penguins finished in third place in the Metropolitan Players’ Player Award winner for the second-straight season. Division, earning a matchup in the First Round against the Milestone-wise, Crosby added several major accomplishments second-seeded New York Islanders. The Isles took advantage of to his resume. He became the 48th player in NHL history to record holding home-ice advantage to win Game 1 in overtime, setting 1,200 points on March 5 against Florida. One game prior, Crosby the stage for a four-game series sweep. scored his 440th goal, allowing him to surpass Jaromir Jagr for second place on the team’s all-time goal scoring list behind only LATE SURGE Lemieux (690). Finally, Crosby surpassed Lemieux to establish the franchise record for games played at 916 on Feb. 9 at Tampa Bay. As noted above, the Penguins were up and down record-wise Crosby ended the regular season with 943 games played. throughout a majority of the 2018-19 season. According to the Fourteen seasons into his illustrious career, Crosby has NHL Stats team, the Penguins sat outside a playoff position after captured nearly every meaningful NHL award he is eligible to playing at least 70% of their schedule for just the second time receive. He added one of the few he was missing when he during the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin Era. The other instance was named the MVP of the NHL All-Star Game in San Jose. came in 2008-09 when an 18-3-4 finish in the final 25 games set Crosby helped the Metropolitan Division win the All-Star 3-on-3 the stage for the first of three Stanley Cup championships won by Tournament thanks to a tournament-high eight points (4G-4A). the Penguins thus far with the dynamic duo. What made winning MVP even more impressive was Crosby was This year, everything began clicking for the Penguins in the a legitimate question mark to play in the game after missing the final quarter thanks to a surge that began immediately following previous evening’s Skills Competition due to a bad case of the flu. the trading deadline on February 25. In the first game following the deadline, the Penguins soundly MAJOR MILESTONES defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-2, on February 26 at Nationwide Arena. From that night through the end of the regular Penguins fans were treated to a pair of major milestones season, Pittsburgh went 12-4-4, earning 28 of a possible 40 within a one-week span in March. Evgeni Malkin, who long ago standings points (70%). established himself as one of the greatest players in NHL history, Pittsburgh’s 28 points following the trading deadline ranked became the 88th NHL player to record 1,000 career points when second in the NHL behind Tampa Bay’s 30. he set up a Phil Kessel goal against the Washington Capitals on Prior to the trading deadline, the Penguins were tied for the March 12. Malkin became the fifth Russian-born player in NHL eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. history to reach that mark. He also joined Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Jaromir Jagr as the only players in franchise history TWO-WAY FORCE to do so. The Penguins joined the Detroit Red Wings (Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio and Nicklas Lidstrom) as Captain Sidney Crosby produced arguably the best all-around the only two NHL teams to have four players record 1,000 points season of his NHL career in 2018-19. Offensively, Crosby tallied for their franchise. his highest point total since the 2013-14 campaign, reaching the One week earlier, Matt Cullen became just the second 100-point mark for the sixth time in his career. He ended the pittsburghpenguins.com 2018.19 Regular-Season Review • 7 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 2018.19 NOTES American-born player in NHL history to skate in 1,500 career only John Tavares (37) and Patrick Kane (35). regular-season games on March 5 against the Florida Panthers, Guentzel established career highs across the board this year joining Hall of Famer Chris Chelios (1,651 games played). By the with 36 assists and 76 points while skating in all 82 regular- end of the year, Cullen had appeared in 1,516 contests, which season contests for the second-straight year. moved him into 19th place on the NHL’s all-time games played list. Guentzel’s 40 goals this season placed fourth among all American-born players. (To read more on both of these impressive accomplishments, please Guentzel was rewarded for his high-scoring exploits on see pages 27-34 for Malkin and pages 36-38 for Cullen) December 27 with a five-year contract extension that begins with the 2019-20 season and runs through 2023-24, paying him an ALL THE RECORDS average annual value of $6 million. Kris Letang long ago established himself as one of the Penguins’ pillars during this 13-year run of success. This year, not PROVIDING A SPARK only did he produce one of the best seasons of his career, but he Since taking over the Penguins in 2014, general manager added several franchise records to cement his standing among Jim Rutherford has often stated that he prefers to make his big the team’s all-time greats. moves several weeks before the trading deadline. His thinking is Two games into the season, his assist on a Riley Sheahan that by striking early, newcomers have a better chance to develop goal Oct. 6 versus Montreal was the 441st point of his career, chemistry within their new surroundings. setting a new club record for points by a defenseman, breaking Rutherford was able to accomplish that goal this year, making Paul Coffey’s mark. Later in the year, Letang scored his 109th goal his biggest transaction of the season on February 1. He acquired to supplant Coffey as the highest goal-scoring blueliner in club a pair of forwards who would play key roles down the stretch annals. Letang set the Penguins’ team record for games played – Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad – in exchange for Derick by a defender when he skated in his 704th contest on Nov. 27 at Brassard, Riley Sheahan and three draft picks. Winnipeg. Almost immediately, McCann and Bjugstad provided the (For more on Letang’s franchise records, see page 35) secondary goal scoring that Pittsburgh had been searching for all season. They each dressed for 32 games, with McCann producing Although Letang missed 17 games due to injury – including 11 goals and 17 points, and Bjugstad chipping in nine goals and 15 following the February 25 NHL Trade Deadline – he still put 14 points. McCann quickly developed into one of Pittsburgh’s forth another banner campaign, earning him the fifth All-Star top penalty killers, scoring a team-high three shorthanded goals Game selection of his career. Letang finished the season with 56 despite skating in less than half of the team’s games. Overall, points, the second-highest single-season total of his career. He McCann scored four shorthanded goals between his two teams, also equaled his career high by scoring 16 goals (also did so in tied for fourth-most in the NHL.