Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional hockey team that plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) . The team competes in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh plays in the PPG Paints Arena.
A team called the Pittsburgh Pirates played in the NHL from 1925 to 1930 before moving to Philadelphia. The NHL did not return to the city until the Penguins entered the league in the 1967-1968 season.
The Penguins were modestly successful during the 1970’s but struggled during much of the 1980’s. The team failed to make the playoffs from 1983 through 1988. However, center Mario Lemieux joined the team in 1984 and became one of the greatest scorers in NHL history.
The Penguins won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. They beat first the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars ) and then the Chicago Blackhawks . Stars of those Penguins teams included Lemieux, center Ron Francis, left winger Kevin Stevens, right winger Jaromir Jagr , goalie Tom Barrasso, and defensemen Grant Jennings and Ulf Samuelsson. After winning its second Stanley Cup, Pittsburgh made the playoffs every season from the 1992-1993 season through the 2000-2001 season. Lemieux became the owner of the Penguins in 1999.
The team slumped during the early 2000’s but again returned to the playoffs in 2007. The team was led by center Sidney Crosby . Crosby had entered the league in 2005 and had quickly become one of the most exciting players in the NHL. Pittsburgh won the conference title in 2007-2008 but lost in the Stanley Cup finals to the Detroit Red Wings , 4-2. The Penguins repeated as conference champions in 2008-2009. Pittsburgh defeated Detroit in a rematch of the prior year’s Stanley Cup finals in an exciting seven-game series. In 2016, the Penguins won their fourth Stanley Cup, defeating the San Jose Sharks , 4-2. They repeated as Stanley Cup winners the following year, beating the Nashville Predators , 4-2. Recent stars have included goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, centers Crosby and Evgeni Malkin , and defenseman Kris Letang.
See also Crosby, Sidney ; Jagr, Jaromir ; Lemieux, Mario ; Malkin, Evgeni .
