2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season

2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	2nd Metropolitan
Conference	5th Eastern
2017–18 record	47–29–6
Home record	30–9–2
Road record	17–20–4
Goals for	272
Goals against	250
Team information
General manager	Jim Rutherford
Coach	Mike Sullivan
Captain	Sidney Crosby
Alternate captains	Kris Letang Evgeni Malkin
Arena	PPG Paints Arena
Average attendance	18,578 (101.0%) (42 games)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Evgeni Malkin (42)
Assists	Sidney Crosby (60)
Points	Evgeni Malkin (98)
Penalty minutes	Evgeni Malkin (87)
Plus/minus	Justin Schultz (+20)
Wins	Matt Murray (27)
Goals against average	Casey DeSmith (2.40)

The 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 51st season for the National Hockey League ice hockey team that was established on June 5, 1967. They entered the season as two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. It was the first season since the 2002–03 season in which the team played without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was drafted to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. The Penguins failed to defend their title, after being eliminated in the Second Round of the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, ending their chances of a possible three-peat, the first three-peat in the NHL since the New York Islanders won 4 straight from 1980 to 1983, and the first in a North American professional sports league since the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002.

Standings

Metropolitan Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	ROW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Washington Capitals	82	49	26	7	46	259	239	+20	105
2	x – Pittsburgh Penguins	82	47	29	6	45	272	250	+22	100
3	x – Philadelphia Flyers	82	42	26	14	40	251	243	+8	98
4	x – Columbus Blue Jackets	82	45	30	7	39	242	230	+12	97
5	x – New Jersey Devils	82	44	29	9	39	248	244	+4	97
6	Carolina Hurricanes	82	36	35	11	33	228	256	−28	83
7	New York Islanders	82	35	37	10	32	264	296	−32	80
8	New York Rangers	82	34	39	9	31	231	268	−37	77

Source: National Hockey League
x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was released on June 19, 2017.

2017 preseason game log: 3–3–1 (Home: 2–2–0 ; Road: 1–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home Location Attendance Record 1 September 19 Pittsburgh 3–4 OT Buffalo Pegula Ice Arena — 0–0–1 2 September 20 Detroit 5–6 OT Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 17,784 1–0–1 3 September 22 Pittsburgh 4–3 Columbus Nationwide Arena 12,115 2–0–1 4 September 24 St. Louis 4–1 Pittsburgh UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex 1,500 2–1–1 5 September 25 Pittsburgh 1–4 Detroit Little Caesars Arena 16,770 2–2–1 6 September 27 Buffalo 4–5 Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 17,693 3–2–1 7 September 30 Columbus 3–0 Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena 18,338 3–3–1

Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on June 22, 2017.

Detailed records

Final

Eastern Conference
Atlantic	GP	W	L	OT	SHOTS	GF	GA	PP	PK	FO W–L
Boston Bruins	3	1	2	0	81–96	13	17	3–8	3–9	97–106
Buffalo Sabres	3	3	0	0	99–99	14	5	2–12	2–11	102–83
Detroit Red Wings	3	1	2	0	98–79	7	10	3–10	2–10	101–84
Florida Panthers	3	2	1	0	118–107	13	12	5–8	1–10	79–110
Montreal Canadiens	3	3	0	0	111–76	15	8	6–10	2–5	106–85
Ottawa Senators	3	3	0	0	80–90	13	4	2–9	1–9	88–101
Tampa Bay Lightning	3	1	2	0	103–101	10	14	5–14	6–16	118–100
Toronto Maple Leafs	3	1	2	0	115–83	10	12	1–8	3–5	97–102
Division total	24	15	9	0	774–698	95	82	27–79	20–75	788–771

Metropolitan	GP	W	L	OT	SHOTS	GF	GA	PP	PK	FO W–L
Carolina Hurricanes	4	2	2	0	121–129	10	8	1–6	0–7	123–114
Columbus Blue Jackets	4	4	0	0	144–132	16	12	6–12	2–12	138–133
New Jersey Devils	4	1	2	1	132–141	10	13	0–7	3–9	136–123
New York Islanders	4	3	1	0	157–124	12	9	4–8	1–15	115–131
New York Rangers	4	2	1	1	164–122	16	14	2–12	4–12	119–111
Philadelphia Flyers	4	4	0	0	137–133	20	11	5–13	2–16	104–133
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals	4	2	2	0	140–120	12	13	6–19	2–18	121–138
Division total	28	18	8	2	993–901	95	80	24–77	14–89	856–883
Conference total	52	33	17	2	1747–1598	191	162	51–156	34–164	1644–1657

Western Conference
Central	GP	W	L	OT	SHOTS	GF	GA	PP	PK	FO W–L
Chicago Blackhawks	2	0	2	0	65–82	2	12	1–5	2–11	72–68
Colorado Avalanche	2	0	2	0	76–65	3	6	0–6	1–8	51–56
Dallas Stars	2	1	0	1	67–54	6	4	1–7	1–7	50–70
Minnesota Wild	2	1	1	0	69–55	7	5	3–5	1–9	58–55
Nashville Predators	2	1	0	1	64–54	8	4	0–9	2–11	60–71
St. Louis Blues	2	1	0	1	56–68	8	6	1–7	1–7	70–66
Winnipeg Jets	2	1	1	0	68–55	3	8	1–7	1–5	62–58
Division total	14	5	6	3	425–395	36	43	7–43	7–53	383–415

Pacific	GP	W	L	OT	SHOTS	GF	GA	PP	PK	FO W–L
Anaheim Ducks	2	0	2	0	62–56	3	9	2–6	1–4	60–57
Arizona Coyotes	2	2	0	0	70–42	7	3	1–10	0–3	64–55
Calgary Flames	2	1	0	1	76–72	5	5	0–3	1–6	61–60
Edmonton Oilers	2	2	0	0	74–67	5	3	2–7	1–7	65–56
Los Angeles Kings	2	2	0	0	70–64	6	2	2–9	1–5	57–54
San Jose Sharks	2	1	1	0	63–78	6	4	0–6	3–8	68–57
Vancouver Canucks	2	0	2	0	84–58	4	9	3–9	2–5	63–65
Vegas Golden Knights	2	1	1	0	63–51	6	6	0–8	1–5	66–44
Division total	16	9	6	1	562–488	42	41	10–58	10–41	504–448
Conference total	30	14	11	4	987–883	79	84	17–101	15–96	887–863
NHL total	82	47	29	6	2787–2479	270	246	68–257	49–260	2528–2517

Playoffs

Main article: 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics

Final

Skaters

Regular season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Evgeni Malkin	78	42	56	98	16	87
Phil Kessel	82	34	58	92	–4	36
Sidney Crosby	82	29	60	89	0	46
Kris Letang	79	9	43	52	–10	56
Patric Hornqvist	70	29	20	49	2	58
Jake Guentzel	82	22	26	48	–9	42
Bryan Rust	70	13	25	38	11	26
Riley Sheahan†	69	11	21	32	4	4
Carl Hagelin	80	10	21	31	8	28
Conor Sheary	79	18	12	30	2	10
Olli Maatta	82	7	22	29	1	28
Justin Schultz	63	4	23	27	20	14
Brian Dumoulin	80	5	13	18	–6	30
Jamie Oleksiak†	47	4	10	14	13	69
Ian Cole‡	47	3	10	13	3	52
Dominik Simon	33	4	8	12	2	16
Matt Hunwick	42	4	6	10	–4	21
Ryan Reaves‡	58	4	4	8	–9	84
Derick Brassard†	14	3	5	8	1	4
Tom Kuhnhackl	69	2	6	8	–6	6
Zach Aston-Reese	16	4	2	6	2	2
Chad Ruhwedel	44	2	3	5	–5	16
Carter Rowney	43	2	3	5	–13	4
Greg McKegg‡	26	2	2	4	–4	8
Daniel Sprong	8	2	1	3	2	0
Jean-Sebastien Dea	5	1	0	1	1	2
Josh Jooris†	9	0	0	0	0	0
Frank Corrado	5	0	0	0	–1	2
Zach Trotman	1	0	0	0	0	0
Josh Archibald‡	3	0	0	0	0	0
Scott Wilson‡	3	0	0	0	–2	0
Total		270	460	730	22	760
Team Total[A]		270	464	734	22	784

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	+/−	PIM
Jake Guentzel	12	10	11	21	10	8
Sidney Crosby	12	9	12	21	7	6
Patric Hornqvist	10	5	6	11	–2	22
Kris Letang	12	3	8	11	0	15
Phil Kessel	12	1	8	9	–5	2
Evgeni Malkin	9	4	4	8	–7	16
Justin Schultz	12	1	7	8	5	2
Brian Dumoulin	12	1	6	7	3	2
Derick Brassard	12	1	3	4	–1	4
Bryan Rust	12	3	0	3	2	4
Carl Hagelin	9	2	1	3	1	2
Riley Sheahan	12	1	2	3	–2	2
Dominik Simon	8	0	3	3	0	4
Olli Maatta	12	0	2	2	8	4
Conor Sheary	12	0	2	2	–2	2
Jamie Oleksiak	12	1	0	1	–2	7
Zach Aston-Reese	9	0	1	1	–1	4
Tom Kuhnhackl	12	0	0	0	0	4
Chad Ruhwedel	12	0	0	0	–2	2
Carter Rowney	3	0	0	0	0	0
Total		42	76	118	8	112
Team Total[B]		42	76	118	8	112

• ^{A B} Team Total includes Skater Statistics, Goaltender Statistics and Bench Minor Penalties.

Goaltenders

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Matt Murray	49	45	2,732:58	27	15	3	133	2.92	1423	0.907	1	0	1	2
Tristan Jarry	26	23	1,363:16	14	6	2	63	2.77	687	0.908	2	0	2	4
Casey DeSmith	14	11	700:09	6	4	1	28	2.40	356	0.921	1	0	0	2
Antti Niemi‡	3	3	128:08	0	3	0	16	7.49	79	0.797	0	0	1	0
Total		82	4,922:31	47	29	6	239	2.91	2545	0.906	4	0	4	8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Matt Murray	12	12	715:35	6	6	0	29	2.43	314	.908	2	0	0	0
Total		12	715:35	6	6	0	29	2.43	314	.908	2	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Statistics reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Statistics reflect time with the Penguins only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Notable achievements

Awards

Regular season

Player	Award	Awarded
S. Crosby	NHL Third Star of the Week	January 8, 2018
P. Kessel	NHL Third Star of the Week	January 15, 2018
E. Malkin	NHL First Star of the Month	February 1, 2018
E. Malkin	NHL First Star of the Week	February 5, 2018
E. Malkin	NHL Second Star of the Month	March 1, 2018
E. Malkin	NHL Third Star of the Week	March 12, 2018

Team awards

Awarded week of April 1

Player	Award	Notes
Kris Letang	Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee	The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Penguins' Masterton nominee. Each NHL team selects a Masterton candidate from which the overall winner is chosen. The Masterton candidate is nominated as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Sponsor: Verizon Wireless
Sidney Crosby	Player's Player Award	The players hold a vote at the end of the season for the player they feel exemplifies leadership for the team, both on and off the ice, a player dedicated to teamwork. Sponsor: UPMC
Matt Murray	Edward J. DeBartolo Award	The award recognizes the player who has donated a tremendous amount of time and effort during the season working on community and charity projects. Sponsor: PNC Wealth Management
Evgeni Malkin	Most Valuable Player	Based on the overall contribution the player makes to the team. Sponsor: PPG Paints

Milestones

Regular season

Player	Milestone	Reached
T. Kuhnhackl	100th career NHL game	October 4, 2017
K. Letang	300th career NHL assist	October 12, 2017
P. Kessel	300th career NHL goal	October 26, 2017
C. DeSmith	1st career NHL game	October 29, 2017
R. Sheahan	300th career NHL game	November 7, 2017
M. Murray	50th career NHL win	November 7, 2017
S. Crosby	800th career NHL game	November 10, 2017
R. Sheahan	100th career NHL point	November 14, 2017
K. Letang	400th career NHL point	November 14, 2017
P. Hornqvist	600th career NHL game	November 25, 2017
T. Jarry	1st career NHL win 1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	November 25, 2017
T. Jarry	1st career NHL shutout	December 1, 2017
M. Hunwick	500th career NHL game	December 21, 2017
B. Dumoulin	200th career NHL game	December 23, 2017
P. Hornqvist	200th career NHL assist	December 27, 2017
D. Sprong	1st career NHL assist	January 5, 2018
C. Hagelin	200th career NHL point	January 14, 2018
D. Simon	1st career NHL goal	January 14, 2018
P. Kessel	700th career NHL point	January 14, 2018
C. DeSmith	1st career NHL win	January 18, 2018
J. Dea	1st career NHL goal 1st career NHL point	January 23, 2018
Z. Aston-Reese	1st career NHL game	February 3, 2018
Z. Aston-Reese	1st career NHL assist 1st career NHL point	February 9, 2018
S. Crosby	400th career NHL goal	February 11, 2018
Z. Aston-Reese	1st career NHL goal	February 13, 2018
M. Murray	100th career NHL game	February 15, 2018
J. Guentzel	100th career NHL game	February 17, 2018
E. Malkin	900th career NHL point	February 17, 2018
P. Kessel	400th career NHL assist	March 3, 2018
P. Kessel	900th career NHL game	March 7, 2018
C. Ruhwedel	100th career NHL game	March 7, 2018
S. Crosby	1,100th career NHL point	March 7, 2018
P. Hornqvist	400th career NHL point	March 15, 2018
S. Crosby	700th career NHL assist	March 21, 2018
J. Schultz	400th career NHL game	March 23, 2018
P. Hornqvist	200th career NHL goal	March 31, 2018
O. Maatta	300th career NHL game	April 1, 2018
C. DeSmith	1st career NHL shutout	April 6, 2018

Playoffs

Player	Milestone	Reached
J. Oleksiak	1st career playoff game	April 11, 2018
Z. Aston-Reese	1st career playoff game	April 11, 2018
E. Malkin	100th career playoff assist	April 15, 2018
D. Simon	1st career playoff game 1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point	April 18, 2018
Z. Aston-Reese	1st career playoff assist 1st career playoff point	April 18, 2018
J. Oleksiak	1st career playoff goal 1st career playoff point	May 5, 2018

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2017–18 season.

Trades

June 21, 2017 (2017-06-21)	To Vegas Golden Knights 2nd-round pick in 2020	To Pittsburgh Penguins Expansion Draft considerations1
June 23, 2017 (2017-06-23)	To St. Louis Blues Oskar Sundqvist 31st overall pick in 1st-round in 2017	To Pittsburgh Penguins Ryan Reaves 51st overall pick in 2nd-round in 2017
October 3, 2017 (2017-10-03)	To Vancouver Canucks Derrick Pouliot	To Pittsburgh Penguins Andrey Pedan 4th-round pick in 2018
October 21, 2017 (2017-10-21)	To Detroit Red Wings Scott Wilson 3rd-round pick in 2018	To Pittsburgh Penguins Riley Sheahan 5th-round pick in 2018
December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)	To Arizona Coyotes Josh Archibald Sean Maguire 6th-round pick in 2019	To Pittsburgh Penguins Michael Leighton 4th-round pick in 2019
December 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)	To Dallas Stars conditional 4th-round pick in 2019	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jamie Oleksiak
February 23, 2018 (2018-02-23)	To Ottawa Senators Ian Cole Filip Gustavsson 1st-round pick in 2018 3rd-round pick in 2019	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tobias Lindberg Vincent Dunn 3rd-round pick in 2018
February 23, 2018 (2018-02-23)	To Vegas Golden Knights Ryan Reaves 4th-round pick in 2018	To Pittsburgh Penguins Derick Brassard[Note 1]
February 26, 2018 (2018-02-26)	To Carolina Hurricanes Greg McKegg	To Pittsburgh Penguins Josh Jooris

Notes:

1. The Vegas Golden Knights will select Marc-Andre Fleury in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
2. ^{Note 1} Vegas to retain 40% ($2 million) of salary as part of trade.

Free agents

Player	Acquired from	Lost to	Date	Contract terms
Trevor Daley		Detroit Red Wings	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	3-year, $9.534 million
Matt Hunwick	Toronto Maple Leafs		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	3-year, $6.75 million
Antti Niemi	Dallas Stars		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $700,000
Ron Hainsey		Toronto Maple Leafs	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $6 million
Nick Bonino		Nashville Predators	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	4-year, $16.4 million
Kevin Porter		Buffalo Sabres	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $1.3 million
Cameron Gaunce		Columbus Blue Jackets	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000
Chris Kunitz		Tampa Bay Lightning	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $2 million
Chris Summers	New York Rangers		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $1.3 million
Jarred Tinordi	Arizona Coyotes		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000
Zach Trotman	Los Angeles Kings		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000
Greg McKegg	Tampa Bay Lightning		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000
Casey DeSmith	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins		July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $1.3 million
David Warsofsky		Colorado Avalanche	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $1.35 million
Kevin Czuczman	Manitoba Moose		July 3, 2017 (2017-07-03)	1-year, $650,000
Adam Johnson	Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs		July 6, 2017 (2017-07-06)	2-year, $1.85 million[b]
Mark Streit		Montreal Canadiens	July 25, 2017 (2017-07-25)	1-year, $700,000
Matt Cullen		Minnesota Wild	August 16, 2017 (2017-08-16)	1-year, $1 million
Tim Erixon		New Jersey Devils	September 7, 2017 (2017-09-07)	Professional Tryout Contract
Alex D'Orio	Saint John Sea Dogs		September 13, 2017 (2017-09-13)	3-year, $2.15 million[b]
Jordy Bellerive	Lethbridge Hurricanes		September 16, 2017 (2017-09-16)	3-year, $2.15 million[b]
Sam Miletic	London Knights		September 25, 2017 (2017-09-25)	3-year, $2.13 million[b]
Stuart Percy		Rochester Americans	October 19, 2017 (2017-10-19)	Professional Tryout Contract
Juuso Riikola	Lukko		May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18)	1-year, $1.775 million[b]
Lukas Bengtsson		Linköpings HC	May 18, 2018 (2018-05-18)	3-year

Waivers

Player	Claimed from	Lost to	Date
Antti Niemi		Florida Panthers	October 24, 2017 (2017-10-24)

Signings

Player	Date	Contract terms
Frederik Tiffels	June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22)	2-year, $1.85 million[b]
Chad Ruhwedel	June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22)	2-year, $1.3 million
Garrett Wilson	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	2-year, $1.3 million
Justin Schultz	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	3-year, $16.5 million
Tom Sestito	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000[a]
Frank Corrado	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)	1-year, $650,000[a]
Derrick Pouliot	July 12, 2017 (2017-07-12)	1-year, $800,000
Josh Archibald	July 12, 2017 (2017-07-12)	2-year, $1.35 million
Brian Dumoulin	July 24, 2017 (2017-07-24)	6-year, $24.6 million
Conor Sheary	July 30, 2017 (2017-07-30)	3-year, $9 million
Jean-Sebastien Dea	August 21, 2017 (2017-08-21)	1-year, $650,000[a]
Patric Hornqvist	February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)	5-year, $26.5 million (contract extension)
Sam Lafferty	March 7, 2018 (2018-03-07)	2-year, $1.85 million[b]
Dane Birks	March 28, 2018 (2018-03-28)	2-year, $1.6 million[b]
Anthony Angello	April 6, 2018 (2018-04-06)	2-year, $1.85 million[b]
Linus Olund	April 25, 2018 (2018-04-25)	3-year, $2.775 million[b]
Tobias Lindberg	June 19, 2018 (2018-06-19)	1-year, $650,000[a] (contract extension)

Notes

• ^a – Two-way contract
• ^b – Entry-level contract

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Below are the Pittsburgh Penguins' selections at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 23 and 24, 2017 at the United Center in Chicago.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2	511	Zachary Lauzon	D	Canada	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL)
3	93	Clayton Phillips	D	United States	Fargo Force (USHL)
5	1522	Jan Drozg	LW	Slovenia	Leksands IF J18 (J18 Elit)
5	155	Linus Olund	C	Sweden	Brynäs IF (SHL)
6	186	Antti Palojarvi	D	Finland	Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)
7	217	William Reilly	D	Canada	RPI (ECAC)

Draft notes:

1. The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade on June 23, 2017, that sent Oskar Sundqvist and a first-round pick in 2017 (31st overall) to St. Louis in exchange for Ryan Reaves and this pick.
2. The Ottawa Senators' fifth-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade on November 2, 2016, that Mike Condon to Ottawa exchange for this pick.

References