The Pittsburgh Penguins begin their 2024-25 season at PPG Paints Arena on Oct. 9 against the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, the New York Rangers.
The club will play 12 times in October, with five home contests and seven on the road, including the campaign’s first lengthy road trip, this one through Western Canada.
Here are some contests fans should mark on their calendar in the season’s first month.
Oct. 9 vs. New York Rangers
Outside their recent playoff history against one another, the Penguins will open their season against the best statistical team from 2023-24. Although the Rangers did not win the Stanley Cup, they advanced to the Eastern Conference Final and are still one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division.
This contest also marks the first time Reilly Smith will play against Pittsburgh, which traded him to New York on July 1. In one season with the Penguins, the former Stanley Cup champion had 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games.
Oct. 25 at Edmonton Oilers
Although no national broadcasting partners have released their schedules, the tilt between the Penguins and Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 25 will almost certainly be on national TV.
Superstar players Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid will meet for the first time since the Oilers lost in the most recent Stanley Cup Final. Like Crosby, McDavid left his first championship series with a loss. However, it will be interesting to see if he duplicates Sid’s success by returning and winning the year after.
Oct. 29 vs. Minnesota Wild
The Penguins play the Minnesota Wild twice in 2024-25, and their first meeting on Oct. 29 at PPG Paints Arena could be the final time fans see Marc-Andre Fleury skate in his old stomping grounds.
Eventually, when the three-time Stanley Cup winner retires, he’ll be back in Pittsburgh for a ceremony to celebrate his career as the franchise’s win leader. The two teams meet again later in the season, but this night in October will be a bittersweet moment, especially if Fleury is between the pipes.
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