1979 Playoffs: Pens take Game One from Sabres

Our look at the Penguins 1979 preliminary round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres continues...

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...

Carlyle jets off to Winnipeg

In the summer of 1978 the Penguins acquired a talented young defenseman named Randy Carlyle from the Toronto Maple Leafs. He quickly became a mainstay on the Pittsburgh blueline and developed into one of the premier defenders in the league. In 1981, he even captured the Norris Trophy, still the only Penguin to win the award. That season he tallied an incredible 83 points.

But during the Penguins dismal 1983-84 season, the captain's production slipped. By early March, he had only three goals and 23 assists in 50 games. The few fans who were turning up at the Igloo that year began to get on his case. The trade rumours that had swirled for much of the season became reality on March 5 when Carlyle was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets for a first-round pick and future considerations. Randy's largely successful six-year run in the Steel City came to an inglorious end, with the announcement of the trade at the Civic Arena prior to the Penguins game that night against Washington receiving a boisterous roar of approval. See the full report of the deal and the reaction in this March 6, 1984 report.

The move was later seen as a key plank in GM Eddie Johnston's plan to tank the season in order to finish last overall and secure the coveted number one pick in that year's draft, AKA Mario Lemieux. No mention of this possibility is included in the article.