2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 44th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins began the season in their new arena, CONSOL Energy Center, which is adjacent from their old facility, Mellon Arena, which had been the third smallest and oldest arena in the NHL. The Penguins also hosted the 2011 NHL Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field, home of the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers and NCAA's's Pittsburgh Panthers football.

2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division2nd Atlantic
Conference4th Eastern
2010–11 record49–25–8
Home record25–14–2
Road record24–11–6
Goals for238
Goals against199
Team information
General ManagerRay Shero
CoachDan Bylsma
CaptainSidney Crosby
Alternate captainsEvgeni Malkin
Brooks Orpik
Jordan Staal
ArenaConsol Energy Center
Heinz Field (1 game)
Average attendance18,240 (100.9%)[1]
(40 games)
Team leaders
GoalsSidney Crosby (32)
AssistsKris Letang (42)
PointsSidney Crosby (66)
Penalty minutesMatt Cooke (129)
Plus/minusSidney Crosby (+20)
Alex Goligoski (+20)
WinsMarc-Andre Fleury (36)
Goals against averageBrent Johnson (2.17)

Pre-season

On June 16, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they would play a six-game pre-season, including the first-ever game at the new Consol Energy Center on September 22 against the Detroit Red Wings.[2]

On July 26, 2010, longtime Penguins PA announcer John Barbaro died of brain cancer at age 65.

Game log

Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = OT/SO Loss

Regular season

First half

The Penguins inaugurated their new arena on October 7 with a home opener against their in-state rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, the defending Eastern Conference champions, whom they will play three times in the first month of the season. However, rookie Flyers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made his NHL debut, leading his team to a 3–2 victory.[3] Flyers forward Daniel Briere scored the first goal in the new building. In the first month of the season, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury struggled, posting a 1–5 record for the month while backup goaltender Brent Johnson was 5–0–1 and posting a shutout in the final game of the month against the Carolina Hurricanes. Injuries were another trend for the first month of the season, with Jordan Staal failing to play the first month of the season with an infection in his foot. Other injuries to Zbynek Michalek and Brooks Orpik weakened the defensive unit during the first month. During the month of November, the Penguins went on a 12-game winning streak beginning with a 3-1 victory against the Vancouver Canucks on November 17. At the same time team captain Sidney Crosby went on a 25-game point streak during which he recorded 26 goals and 24 assists.[4] The Penguins winning streak ended on December 14 with 3-2 loss in Philadelphia.[5]

After 41 games, the midpoint of the season, the Penguins held a 26–12–3 record with 55 points, a two-point improvement over last season and good for second in the division behind the Philadelphia Flyers and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

2011 Winter Classic

The Penguins held the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1 against the Washington Capitals. This matchup pitted the two premiere stars of the game against each other, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. The Capitals won the contest however 3–1, overcoming a 1–0 Penguins lead in which Evgeni Malkin scored the lone Penguins goal. Jordan Staal made a return to the Penguins lineup in the Winter Classic after being held out all of the 2010 contests of the season due to foot and hand injuries.

Crosby suffered a concussion in an open ice hit in the Winter Classic but remained in the game and took part in the following contest with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Against Tampa Bay, however, he was hit again, this time behind the net against the boards and further aggravated his concussion. Crosby was held out games from January 7 through the end of the regular season.

Second half

Defenseman Kris Letang had a breakout first half of the season, sitting second on the team in points scored behind center Sidney Crosby. Letang, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were named to the roster of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game, though only Letang and Fleury made appearances, as Crosby and Malkin were held out of the contest with head and lower body injures, respectively.

Malkin also missed multiple games in late January due to a lingering lower body injury and a sinus infection. He returned to the lineup against the Buffalo Sabres on February 4, but reactivated the injury during a hit by Tyler Myers in the second period, tearing his right medial collateral ligament (MCL) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Crosby and Malkin were injured for most of January and into February. In spite of these injuries, the Penguins still held onto second place in the Division and fourth place in the Conference for most of the first half and middle of the season, going 8–3–1 without Crosby, which includes 4–1–0 without both Crosby and Malkin during the same 8–3–1 span.

Due to the absence of Malkin and Crosby, the Penguin's offensive was not nearly as productive. This led General Manager Ray Shero to make personnel adjustments before the February trade deadline. On February 21, the Penguins traded defenseman Alex Goligoski to the Dallas Stars for left winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. The organization also acquired right winger Alex Kovalev from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional draft pick on February 24.

On March 25, the Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils 1–0 in a shootout. James Neal scored the lone goal, marking the fourth year in a row the Penguins have won a game on March 25 in a shutout and the first to go to overtime or a shootout.

On March 28, the Penguins set an NHL record by winning their fourth consecutive game in a shootout. During the stretch, the team defeated the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers in a seven-day period.[6]

The Penguins concluded the regular season with the best penalty-kill percentage in the NHL, at 86.11%[7]

Game log

2010–2011 Schedule
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = OT/SO Loss

Standings

Atlantic Division[8]
GP W L OTL ROW GF GA Pts
1 y-Philadelphia Flyers8247231244259223106
2 Pittsburgh Penguins824925839238199106
3 New York Rangers82443353523319893
4 New Jersey Devils82383953517420981
5 New York Islanders823039132622926473
Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL ROW GF GA Pts
1 z – Washington CapitalsSE8248231143224197107
2 y – Philadelphia FlyersAT8247231244259223106
3 y – Boston BruinsNE8246251144246195103
4 Pittsburgh PenguinsAT824925839238199106
5 Tampa Bay LightningSE8246251140247240103
6 Montreal CanadiensNE82443084121620996
7 Buffalo SabresNE824329103824522996
8 New York RangersAT82443353523319893
8.5
9 Carolina HurricanesSE824031113523623991
10 Toronto Maple LeafsNE823734113221825185
11 New Jersey DevilsAT82383953517420981
12 Atlanta ThrashersSE823436122922326980
13 Ottawa SenatorsNE823240103019225074
14 New York IslandersAT823039132622926473
15 Florida PanthersSE823040122619522972

bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

Detailed records

Final[9]

Eastern Conference
Atlantic GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
Philadelphia Flyers6240172–16215166–295–27183–163
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers6231189–16015212–227–22170–171
New Jersey Devils6411167–1541182–202–17139–152
New York Islanders6411197–17315166–324–28183–187
Division Total241293725–649566116–10318–94675–673
Northeast GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
Boston Bruins4220146–14212152–113–13108–122
Montreal Canadiens4121132–928104–170–13113–105
Buffalo Sabres4400123–1251250–201–12130–112
Toronto Maple Leafs4211120–9016142–114–20122–114
Ottawa Senators4310155–1241374–174–15107–120
Division Total201262676–573615112–7612–73580–573
Southeast GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
Washington Capitals4130121–114490–143–15123–132
Tampa Bay Lightning4220129–1031792–182–21128–127
Carolina Hurricanes4310132–11412102–111–18125–108
Atlanta Thrashers4400112–1281893–134–20107–118
Florida Panthers4400122–1341472–110–1297–125
Division Total201460616–59365449–6710–86580–610
Conference Total64382152017–181518215637–24640–2531835–1856
Western Conference
Central GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
Detroit Red Wings220054–78950–42–847–75
Nashville Predators110038–24430–51–430–28
Chicago Blackhawks100126–31230–40–326–44
St. Louis Blues100131–24010–40–321–25
Columbus Blue Jackets211068–48864–61–762–48
Division Total7412217–20523184–234–25186–220
Northwest GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
Vancouver Canucks110029–30310–20–526–39
Calgary Flames110043–31411–30–430–36
Minnesota Wild101026–37040–40–520–38
Colorado Avalanche110036–31321–50–225–29
Edmonton Oilers110033–29511–60–436–21
Division Total5410167–1581593–200–20137–163
Pacific GP W L OT SHOTS GF GA PP PK FO W–L
San Jose Sharks100126–38230–21–433–30
Anaheim Ducks101032–19231–40–222–18
Phoenix Coyotes220074–551044–100–1256–67
Los Angeles Kings110026–33210–20–330–21
Dallas Stars101023–29250–40–530–28
Division Total6321181–17418165–221–26171–164
Conference Total181143565–537564312–655–71494–547
NHL Total82492582582–235223819949–31145–3242329–2403

Playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. Their opponent in the first round were the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In Game 4 of the series on April 20, the Penguins defeated the Lightning on the road, 3–2 in double overtime. James Neal once again scored the winning goal. It marked the second time James Neal that Neal had scored the game-winning goal for the Penguins; the first time had been the shootout-winning goal on March 25 in a 1–0 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

On April 27, the Penguins were officially eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 1–0 loss to the Lightning in Game 7; it marked the second time in two years that the Penguins had lost a Game 7 on home ice and it was the first time that they had been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since 2007. Furthermore, the Penguins were the third team to be knocked out of the playoffs in the debut of their new facility.[10][11]

Game log

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = OT/SO Loss
  • Scorer of game-winning goal in italics.

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[23]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Marc-Andre Fleury65623,695:10362051432.321,7420.91830110
Brent Johnson23201,296:421353472.176040.92210124
Totals824,991:52492581902.282,3460.91940234
Playoffs[24]
Player GP GS TOI W L OT GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Marc-Andre Fleury77405:12340172.521680.8991000
Brent Johnson1034:2900046.96110.6360002
Totals7439:41340212.871790.8831002

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Team. Stats reflect time with the Team only.
Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Roster

Final.[25]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
27 Craig Adams RW/C R 34 2009 Seria, Brunei
45 Arron Asham RW R 33 2010 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
19 Mike Comrie C L 30 2010 Edmonton, Alberta
16 Chris Conner W L 27 2009 Westland, Michigan
24 Matt Cooke LW L 32 2008 Belleville, Ontario
87 Sidney Crosby (C) C L 23 2005 Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
9 Pascal Dupuis W L 32 2008 Laval, Quebec
5 Deryk Engelland D R 29 2007 Edmonton, Alberta
29 Marc-Andre Fleury G L 26 2003 Sorel, Quebec
28 Eric Godard RW R 31 2008 Vernon, British Columbia
15 Dustin Jeffrey C/LW L 32 2007 Sarnia, Ontario
1 Brent Johnson G L 34 2009 Farmington, Michigan
38 Nick Johnson RW R 25 2004 Calgary, Alberta
48 Tyler Kennedy RW R 24 2004 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
72 Alexei Kovalev RW L 38 2011 Tolyatti, Soviet Union
14 Chris Kunitz LW L 31 2009 Regina, Saskatchewan
58 Kris Letang D R 24 2005 Montreal, Quebec
10 Mark Letestu C R 26 2007 Elk Point, Alberta
6 Ben Lovejoy D R 27 2008 Canaan, New Hampshire
71 Evgeni Malkin (A) C L 24 2004 Magnitogorsk, Soviet Union
7 Paul Martin D L 30 2010 Elk River, Minnesota
4 Zbynek Michalek D R 28 2010 Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
18 James Neal LW L 23 2011 Whitby, Ontario
2 Matt Niskanen D R 24 2011 Virginia, Minnesota
44 Brooks Orpik (A) D L 39 2000 San Francisco, California
17 Mike Rupp LW/C L 31 2009 Cleveland, Ohio
11 Jordan Staal (A) C L 22 2006 Thunder Bay, Ontario
25 Maxime Talbot F L 27 2002 LeMoyne, Quebec
26 Eric Tangradi W L 22 2009 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2010–11 season.

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