The Penguins current opponent, the Carolina Hurricanes, used to be the Hartford Whalers, who came into the league in 1979 as one of the four World Hockey Association clubs that joined the NHL as part of a merger of the two circuits that year. The Penguins tied the Whalers the first time the teams met on Oct. 13, 1979, and dropped a 7-5 decision the next time 'round in the Insurance City on Nov. 30.Perhaps they lost that game because they were missing one of their better scorers, Greg Malone. Why was he absent? Not for any of the usual reasons a player is kept out, like an injury or a benching. No, Malone missed the game because the day before, his wife gave birth to Ryan Gregory, as mentioned in this summary of Penguins-goings-on from the Dec. 3, 1979 Post-Gazette. Who knew back then that the new arrival would go on to wear his father's number 12 for the Penguins years later?
No comments :
Post a Comment