The Pittsburgh Penguins are about to begin their 20th season in the salary cap era, marking the 20th campaign for their captain, Sidney Crosby.
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Ahead of Wednesday night’s contest against the New York Rangers, the Penguins will be looking to improve their 11-7-1 record in openers and maintain their scoring lead over opponents, which currently stands at 63-58.
Moreover, Pittsburgh will open its campaign at home for the 11th time in 19 seasons, where it has compiled a 7-3-1 record and defeated opponents by a 41-31 margin.
As one of the NHL’s most marketed franchises with several national broadcasts throughout the season, their season openers have come from a variety of opponents, including the following:
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Philadelphia Flyers: 2-2-0
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Washington Capitals: 2-0-0
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New Jersey Devils: 1-1-0
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Arizona Coyotes: 1-0-0
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Tampa Bay Lightning: 1-0-0
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Ottawa Senators: 1-0-0
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New York Rangers: 1-0-0
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Vancouver Canucks: 1-0-0
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Anaheim Ducks: 1-0-0
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Dallas Stars: 0-1-0
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St. Louis: 0-0-1
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Buffalo Sabres: 0-1-0
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Carolina Hurricanes: 0-1-0
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Chicago Blackhawks: 0-1-0
In these 19 games, Pittsburgh’s best performance came in 2018-19 against the Washington Capitals, resulting in a 7-6 overtime victory for the Penguins. In the game, T.J. Oshie had two goals for the Capitals, while Jake Guentzel and Kris Letang each had two for the home team in the win.
Interestingly, the Penguins have only advanced to overtime in five contests since 2005-06, producing a 4-1 record with wins in 2008 (overtime), 2011 (shootout), 2016 (shootout), 2018 (overtime), and a single defeat in 2017 (overtime).
Under head coach Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh is only 4-4 in season openers, barely beating opponents 32-30.
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The Penguins’ best stretch came from 2011 to 2014, winning four straight. Even though they dropped their opener to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023, the franchise has yet to lose more than two in a row, occurring only in 2019 and 2020.
Finally, Pittsburgh is no stranger to shutouts and six-goal games in its openers. They secured two shutout wins in 2006 and 2013 while getting blanked in 2015.
However, the Penguins have been involved in a game with at least six goals for one team in 2014 (win), 2018 (win), 2020 (loss), 2021 (win), and 2022 (win).
In the years they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, the club is 2-2 and has a goal differential of minus four (12-8) in those openers.
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