Trivia answer

Who was the Mighty Ducks' first captain?

None other than Troy Loney, long-time Penguin winger and member of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup Championship teams.

First Game Series: Anaheim Ducks

Today officially begins a series that will look at the first game the Penguins ever played against their game-day opponents, beginning with the Anaheim Ducks, who flapped into the league in 1993-94.

Although the Pens came away with a win from this game out at the Pond in Disneyland, it was anything but a great showing, as described in this game report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Trivia question: Who was the first captain in Mighty Ducks' history? Answer tomorrow!

Top Pens by uniform number

The Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari is running down the top Penguins to wear each number. The first instalment covers numbers 1 through 15. A fun read, and we look forward to the next ones.

Pens score 8 vs. Sharks - in 1 period!

The Pens will face off against the San Jose Sharks tonight on the west coast and will be facing a team that once again has the potential to take home the Stanley Cup. Mention of Lord Stanley's coveted bowl, however, did not go hand-in-hand with the Silicon Valley squad back when it joined the league in 1991. That first season was, as for most expansion teams, positively nightmarish, and the darkest night probably occured on Dec. 18, 1991, when the Sharks paid a visit to the Igloo to face the high-flying defending Stanley Cup champs.

In a period described in this game report from the Post-Gazette by beat writer Tom McMillan as "comical and ugly at the same time", Mario & Co. racked up an incredible eight goals in the second period and carried a 10-0 lead into the third. Can you imagine how the Sharks must have felt coming out for that final frame? Fortunately for them, the mighty Pens took their foot off the gas and let the new kids have a couple.

As a bonus, here's a video describing the history of the Sharks:

Where it all began

This is a short report on the Penguins' first-ever game, a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 11, 1967. Unfortunately, the Post-Gazette's issue from the following day hasn't shown up on Google News yet, but as soon as it does I'll post a link.

Despite the loss, the Pens acquitted themselves quite well against the mighty Montrealers. It seemed to all present that good days were ahead for the team, and with a lot of veteran guys in the lineup, there was every reason to believe that Pittsburgh would be one of the better 'New 6' squads. Alas, the type of optimism on display in Habs' coach Toe Blake's quote in this article was misplaced. The Pens finished 5th of 6th in the new West (Expansion) Division, out of the playoffs.

Here's a great video with original Pens' GM Jack Riley discussing the first game and featuring some clips of the early days. Look how natilly attired the crowds were back then!