Penguins first win, October 13, 1967

The Penguins notched their first-ever win in their second-ever game, October 13, 1967. Former Pittsburgh Hornet Art Stratton netted the winner in a 3-1 win against the Blues in St. Louis. Stratton gathered in a rebound off a Keith McCreary shot and flipped it over goalie Seth Martin.

Read the game report from the following day.

Pens meet Sabres in 1979 playoffs

Here's the first in a series of posts that will look at the Penguins 1979 preliminary round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres...

The Penguins returned to the playoffs in 1979 after having been left out of the dance the previous year. At this point in the NHL's history the first round of the playoffs was a short and sweet best-of-three series. The Penguins opponent was the Buffalo Sabres, who finished three points better than Pittsburgh's 85, giving them home ice advantage.

On the eve of Game One at the venerable Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, the Beaver Valley Times offered up this article previewing the tilt, which detailed some of the Pens' injury woes. Notably, defencemen Dale Tallon and Russ Anderson were not available for the game. Starting goalie Denis Herron didn't seem worried by that: "We've played Buffalo before with injuries and it didn't seem to matter. The only thing that worries me is that this is the playoffs. That makes a big difference."

Rene Robert: One that got away

On paper, it has to rank as one of the worst trades in Penguins history: promising young centre Rene Robert sent to the Buffalo Sabres for the entertaining yet clearly-past-his-prime Eddie Shack.

The deal went down on March 4, 1972, not even a full season after Robert has been claimed by the Penguins from, ironically enough, the Sabres. Shack would end up producing a decent 25-goal showing the next season for the Pens, but that would prove to be his last hurrah in the NHL. By 1975 he was done. Robert, meanwhile, went on to become one-third of Buffalo's legendary French Connection line that helped turn the Sabres into a contender. He scored 40 goals and totalled 83 points in his first full season as a Sabre (1972-73).He would go on to score at least 20 goals in the next eight seasons, also topping the 100-point mark in 1974-75, the year the Sabres went to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ouch.

During his short stint with the Penguins, Robert scored seven goals, one of which came in an 8-1 rout of the Los Angeles Kings at the "Big Igloo" on October 20, 1971. This Pittsburgh Press game report describes how he scored it, and also features a beautiful shot of him putting the puck past Kings keeper Denis Dejordy.

This short piece a few months later describes the trade to Buffalo. Rene Robert was truly one who got away.

Garry Swain

Garry Swain was the Penguins' Number One draft pick in the 1968 amateur Draft, but only ended up playing nine games for the team, registering one goal. It came on March 29, 1969 in Philadelphia during the second-last game of a lost season. Swain made "a fine move on (Bernie) Parent in the goalmouth," according to this Pittsburgh Press game report.

Swain went on to play three seasons with the New England Whalers of the WHA.

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.

Lonsberry breaks drought, gives Pens win - 1980

The Colorado Rockies entered the Igloo on November 22, 1980 riding the best start in franchise history, sitting one game above the .500 mark - truly a lofty plateau for the perennial league doormat. They looked every bit the powerhouse in the first period, outshooting the Pens 13-4. It was Pittsburgh, however, that built a 2-0 lead by the midway point of the second.

Hardy Astrom surrendered
Ross Lonsberry's winning goal
November 22, 1980 at the Igloo.

A "familiar Penguin malady" - the inability to protect a two-goal lead, as described by game report writer Pete Wevurski in this piece the next day - then reared its ugly head. Colorado goals by Paul Gagne and Joel Quenneville tied things up before the frame was done.

The score stayed that way until Penguin left winger Ross Lonsberry scored his first goal in 12 games with less than five minutes to play. The veteran took a pass from George Ferguson from behind the net and slipped a backhand through the legs of Rockies goaltender Hardy Astrom. He then added an empty-netter with one second left for good measure. The win snapped Pittsburgh's five-game winless skid. The Rockies, meanwhile, would win only two of their next 10.

Pens clobber expansion Isles, 9-1

Apps got his first hat trick
against the Isles, not the Seals.

The Penguins were flying high against the expansion New York Islanders on December 13, 1972, skating away with a 9-1 victory at the Igloo. It was a banner night for Syl Apps, Jr., who set a team record with six points, half of those coming in the form of his first career hat trick.

Rookie goalie Denis Herron narrowly missed his second straight shutout against the Isles, giving up a goal with only four ticks left on the clock.

Read the game report from the next day's Post-Gazette.