Pens bow to Habs, March 1979

The Penguins were riding a 10-game unbeaten streak when they headed into the Montreal Forum to take on the Canadiens on March 31, 1979. The last time Pittsburgh had played in that building they'd suffered the worst defeat in franchise history, getting blown out by a score of 12-0. On this night, the team was intent on showing the Habs and the hockey world that they were better than that.

Guy Lafleur scored his 50th goal of the season
March 31, 1979 against the Penguins.

Despite outshooting the mighty Montrealers 32-31, however, the Penguins once again came out on the short end of the scoreboard, losing this time by the much more respectable score of 5-3, as this game report from the Pittsburgh Press explains.

Canadiens superstar Guy Lafleur notched his 50th goal of the season in the game, the fifth consecutive year he had reached that lofty level. He scored it on Denis Herron, who had also surrendered Lafleur's 50th goal in two of the other seasons. "I think he was waiting for me to get number 50," Herron told the Montreal Gazette after the game. "At least I'll have my name in the record book again."

Pens tie high-flying Habs - February 1977

On February 16, 1977, Montreal came to town and the game was quickly shaping up to be your standard 1970s Canadiens-Penguins tilt: two quick goals by the Flying Frenchmen and an apparent blowout on the horizon. But for some strange reason, Pittsburgh decided to start playing. 

Pierre Larouche

Thirteen seconds after Pens goaltender Denis Herron let a bad one dribble by him to give Montreal their 2-0 lead, Rick Kehoe and Pierre Larouche broke in on a two-on-one. Kehoe used his teammate as a decoy and beat Ken Dryden cleanly. By the time the horn rang, the Penguins had built an improbable 3-2 lead, the last goal coming on another Larouche-Kehoe rush, with Pierre this time pulling the trigger. 

The teams traded goals in the second, giving the Penguin fans hope that the team might actually capture its first win against the Habs in their last 10 tries. Guy Lafleur, however, had other ideas. The superstar came into the Penguins zone on the right side early in the third and surprised Herron with a rocket of a shot, low on the stick side. 

There was no quit in the Penguins on this night, though, and it was only the incredible goaltending of Ken Dryden down the stretch that enabled the Canadiens to leave the Igloo with a point.