Pens drop puck on 1977-78 campaign with win over Blues

The Penguins got the 1977-78 season off to a good start by extending their NHL record opening night winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues before 11,663 at the Civic Arena. 

"(Denis) Herron made some brilliant saves and I thought Ron Stackhouse was outstanding," said coach Johnny Wilson after notching his first win behind the Penguin bench. See the full game report from October 13, 1977.

Dunc blows one in Vancouver

The Penguins headed west in late November 1977 to face the Vancouver Canucks, and had everything going their way - until disaster struck with eight seconds left. With the Pens ahead by one, Canucks forward Don Lever sent a hail mary shot toward the Penguins goal, which should have been an easy stop for goalkeeper Dunc Wilson. In his own words, Wilson had drifted too far out of his net and allowed the shot to go in on his short side.

Frustrated Penguins coach Johnny Wilson's view of the clunker was obscured by his players getting to their feet, ready to celebrate a win. In the dressing room afterward, he offered his best Yogi Berra-ism: "I've never seen anything like it in my life...And I didn't even see it."

Quiet crowd at the Igloo

A note from the report on the Cleveland game reveals the tenuous financial situation the Penguins faced at this time in their history. The Igloo attendance for the Barons contest was a paltry 7,516. That was below the season's average of 9,600, and well below the average of 12,000 required to make the operation a profitable one for the first time ever.

In a related story from the Post-Gazette's Sports Editor, the crowd that came out for the Barons game was not exactly raucous. He also paints a nice picture of bedraggled but relieved head coach Johnny Wilson after the game.

Cherry in fine form ahead of tilt with Pens - Oct. 29/77

Don Cherry brought his Big Bad Boston Bruins to the Igloo in late October 1977 and the coach was in fine verbal form when talking to reporters before the game. Meanwhile his Pittsburgh counterpart Johnny Wilson complains about his need to "draw plays" for his offense. (Uh, isn't that what a coach is supposed to do, Johnny? Just sayin'...)

Read the latest article from the Pittsburgh Press as the in-depth season review for 1977-78 continues...

PP Problems, October 1977

Coach Johnny Wilson discusses how the Pens haven't been creative enough on the power play. See the report from the Pittsburgh Press.

Game 5: No 'Miracle on Ice' for 1980 Pens

It looked like Game 4 all over again. And that was unfortunate for the Pens, whose dream of upsetting one of the NHL's top teams in the first round of the 1980 playoffs turned into a Boston Garden nightmare.

The Bruins, perhaps stung by these pesky Penguins taking them to the brink of elimination, once again roared out of the gate and took control of the game, amassing leads of 2-0 after 1 and 4-0 after 2. This article from the Post-Gazette the day after focuses on goalie Greg Millen's surprisingly positive reaction to the loss. The column beneath it by the paper's sports editor speculates on coach Johnny Wilson's future in Pittsburgh, which wouldn't be bright - he was soon fired, making way for none other than Eddie Johnston.

The two pieces on this page of the Beaver County Times offer the views of two fans who were chosen to write columns for the paper.

And this article from the Eugene Register-Guard nicely outlines the impact rookie Ray Bourque had on the series.

This loss would represent the first of three heartbreaking, deciding Game 5 losses the Pens would endure over the next three seasons.

Coach Wilson under attack!

The day of Game 3 in Pittsburgh, this analysis piece of the series thus far by Post-Gazette Pens beat writer Bob Whitley strongly called into question the coaching tactics of Pittsburgh bench boss Johnny Wilson. In a scathing attack, the scribe took Wilson to task for supposedly not unleashing a fleet-footed offense on the Bruins, among other errors. This despite the Penguins pulling off one of the playoffs' early surprises by coming out of the tough Boston Garden with a split.

They never said being a coach was easy!