Five Must Watch Pens Games For 2013-14 Season
May 1, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Beau Bennett (center) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against the New York Islanders during the first period in game one of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be facing a multitude of challenges while entering the 2013-14 season after shuffling up their roster and changing divisions as part of the NHL realignment.
With Pittsburgh joining the Metropolitan Division next season, the team will see the familiar faces in the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New York Rangers — and will see new additions in the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 2013-14 schedule will also feature games against Western Conference opponents for the first time since the 2011-12 season (due to the lockout).
With the 82-game season making its comeback this season, the Pens will have a few marathons like they did in the past. Multiple times throughout the course of the season, Pittsburgh has four and five game stands — both at the Consol Energy Center and away.
With the schedule being released recently and the NHL season slowly approaching, let’s look at some of the Penguins games that you should keep your eye out for this year.
1. Penguins vs. Edmonton Oilers – October 15, 2013
Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Edmonton Oilers gets a piece of the puck while Chris Kunitz #14 of the Pittsburgh Penguins watches it roll into the net on October 09, 2011 at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
(October 8, 2011 – Source: Dale MacMillan/Getty Images North America)
When the Penguins take on the Edmonton Oilers in mid-October, it will be the first Western Conference opponent that Pittsburgh has played since March 22nd, 2012.
It will also be more than two years since the Penguins have taken on the Oilers — the last time being on October 9th, 2011.
The game will feature plenty of offense — due to the Penguins leading the league last season in goals-per-game, and both teams being in the top-ten on the power play last season.
It will also be the Pens first look at the youthful lineup of Edmonton — which features forwards Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and defenseman Justin Schultz.
Consol Energy Center will be buzzing for their entrance back into Western Conference play against a blooming team of the future.
2. Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers – October 17th, 2013
Pittsburgh Penguins‘ Sidney Crosby shoves his glove and stick into the face of Philadelphia Flyers’ Brayden Schenn during a multi-fight brawl in front of the benches during the third period of Game 3 in a first-round NHL Stanley Cup playoffs Sunday, April 15, 2012, in Philadelphia. The Flyers‘ 8-4 win puts them ahead 3-0 in the series. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
Possibly one of the greatest rivalries in the National Hockey League is the Penguins versus the Flyers.
Tension between the Pennsylvania teams will be renewed this season just two days after Pittsburgh meets up with Edmonton in mid-October.
The Penguins currently have a two-game winning streak against the Flyers — due to their fantastic showing against Philadelphia during the 2012-13 regular season.
The Flyers, who barely made it over a .500 winning percentage last season, are looking to rebound in 2013-14 after they made some big moves this offseason. Vincent Lecavalier (former Lightning captain) and Mark Streit (former Islanders captain) were brought in to have some impact on the organization’s success next season.
While Pittsburgh is dealing with Marc-Andre Fleury and his poor play as of late, Philadelphia is having goaltender issues of their own.
The current goaltenders on roster for the Flyers are recent Stanley Cup winner Ray Emery and former Blue Jacket’ Steve Mason — both of whom haven’t proven themselves as solid starting netminders.
No matter what happens, this cross-state battle will promise to provide the fireworks.
3. Penguins vs. Boston Bruins – October 30th, 2013
June 5, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) tries to poke the puck away from Boston Bruins right wing Jaromir Jagr (68) during the first period in game three of the Eastern Conference finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Penguins will face the Bruins for the first time since their Eastern Conference finals loss to Boston in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Pittsburgh will be looking to avenge the franchise’ first playoff sweep since 1979, as the Bruins are welcomed into Consol Energy Center in late-October.
Boston faced difficult decisions regarding their roster this offseason — notably choosing to trade Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley for Loui Eriksson.
It will also be a homecoming for Jarome Iginla, who was picked up by the Bruins this offseason after his short stint with the Penguins in 2013.
The Bruins will look to reassert themselves in the Eastern Conference after their disappointing loss against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Will the Penguins who swept the Bruins in their regular-season series or the team who were absolutely abysmal in their Eastern Conference Finals sweep show up?
We won’t know until October 30th, 2013.
4. Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks – March 1st, 2014
#71 Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins battles for the puck against #19 Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks near Marc-Andre Fleury and the net. Jamie Sabau/Getty Images.
The NHL officially announced early this year that the expansion of the Winter Classic series will feature a game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins on March 1st.
The game, which will be held at Soldier Field in Chicago, will be Pittsburgh’s third outdoor game (2008, 2012) — while Chicago will only be playing in its second (2009).
Hockey fans will be in for a good game because of the two teams’ successful 2012-13 campaigns.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks were the stories of last season.
Chicago started the season with a record 24-point game streak — which ended up being the third-longest winning streak in NHL history.
Then, Pittsburgh went 15-0 in the month of March — which was the first team to ever win all their games in a calendar month.
And of course, everyone knows the Blackhawks were the story of the 2013 playoffs as they won the Stanley Cup.
Not only will the game be one of the most watched this season, but viewers can expect to see stars like Crosby, Malkin, Toews and Kane face-off.
5. Penguins vs. Washington Capitals – March 10th and 11th, 2014
#87 Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck as #8 Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals tries to shadow him. Photo credit: Joe Sargent
Finally, the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins will play more games against each other due to the NHL Realignment plan that puts both teams in the Metropolitan Division.
The Penguins and Capitals have recently developed a rivalry against one another due to the battle between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin for who is the best player in the NHL.
And after losing the Hart Trophy to Ovechkin in a closely debated vote, Crosby will be looking to prove he is the best.
These two games that are back-to-back in early March and it will be Crosby’s chance to redeem himself as both teams will try to strengthen their position for playoffs.
The pair of games will feature tons of offense because of the both teams being in the top-five last season for goals-per-game — showing that these two organizations love to put the puck in the net.
Hopefully by this time, the Penguins will be making their push for number one in the division — maybe even the conference.