The Penguins of the late 70s and early 80s were never very rich in talent, but they often showed an impressive amount of determination and pride that carried them to some fine moments in the franchise's early history. A good example was Game One of the 1979 Preliminary Round series against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres has finished three points ahead of the Pens in the regular season, earning them home ice advantage in the series. Pittsburgh entered the always-tough "Aud" in Buffalo without key injured players Pete Mahovlich, Russ Anderson, Wayne Bianchin and Dale Tallon. The Sabres twice built one-goal leads but the resilient Pens kept battling back. Riding the hot goaltending of Denis Herron, the team erased a 2-1 third-period deficit by exploding for three goals, including the winner by ex-Sabre Gary McAdam.
The Pens ability to overcome their injuries (they also lost forward Gregg Sheppard in the second when he his face was crushed into the boards on a Gerry (King Kong) Korab check) was "the sign of a good team," said blueliner Randy Carlyle in this game report from the next day's Pittsburgh Press. "You forget the injuries and just play hockey."
The Pens would now return to the comfortable confines of the Igloo to try to end the series in a sweep...
Watching this game in 2024. I just started to follow my hometown Penguins during this same time frame. I enjoyed watching these players when I was just a 10 yr old young boy learning about the game of hockey. I would play street hockey around this time and this was a few years before the savior of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey Mario Lemieux came to our town. But Randy Carlyle was my favorite Penguin. Thanks for this blog. Let’s go Pens.
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