Top Pittsburgh Penguins Rivalries to Look Forward to in 2017-18

Pittsburgh Penguins: Top 5 Rivalries to Watch This Season

The Pittsburgh Penguins are repeat Stanley Cup victors therefore they won’t have many friends this season. Coming into the 2017-18 season, the Penguins will have a lot of enemies to weather through- and we know they can.

Hockey rivalries are the best rivalries in the sports world. Nothing says a rivalry like hard checks to the boards and dropping the gloves. While some rivalries are stronger than others, a rivalry is a rivalry and fans love all of the hype. Even the players like hopping into the rivalry hype sometimes, too.

This season the penguins will have a handful of enemies but some rivalries are sure to be more exciting than others. Pittsburgh will face a few teams that are bound to get more fans on the edge’s of their seats and their players to drop the gloves.

There are five rivalries, in particular, that Penguins fans should have some extra excitement for. Of course, as always, these five rivalries will do their best to give the Pens a run for their money.

Now, let’s see which of the Penguins’ rivals we should pay extra attention to this season.

5. The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Washington Capitals

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals have felt like strong rivals ever since Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin entered the league in 2005. This rivalry has had ups and downs on both sides and every time these two teams play hockey fans expect an exciting time.

Last season, the Pens and the Caps faced off four times and split the series. These games offered action, hard play and a lot of goals. The Pens won both of their victories in overtime, showing that their determination and ability to step up when necessary are game-winners.

Pittsburgh isn’t just the reigning Stanley Cup champs, they’re also the team that sent the Capitals packing during the postseason two years in a row. The Capitals aren’t so happy the Pens have eliminated them both times, especially following some pretty exceptional seasons.

Washington is going to come into this season with more bones to pick with the Penguins. These two teams will face off for another four games this season and we know to expect some exciting matchups.

The Capitals are going to come into the rink hard to try and get a big win but the Pens will look to show them who the winners are.

4. The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Nashville Predators

You might not have considered the Pengunis and the Predators rivals before the Stanley Cup Final but, after that series, they’ll definitely be a matchup you can’t miss. Despite only facing each other twice in a regular season, these regular season games will almost feel like a rematch for the two teams.

The Pens and the Predators split their two games last season and each team took a victory on home ice. Nashvile won’t forget losing to the Penguins in their first ever Stanley Cup Final and they’re going to want to step up to the team.

It certainly doesn’t help that the Predators’ loss gave the Penguins a second consecutive Stanley Cup. The series was a tug of war over goals and dominance; each team played as hard and as determined as any team chasing the Stanley Cup would. Luckily for Pittsburgh, the Pens’ best play earned them another cup.

Expect these games to be a battle of skill with a lot of big plays. Of course, you can’t forget that these two teams will come in playing their best and their roughest.

The Penguins will face the Predators in their second regular season home game and you can bet that PPG Paints Arena will be loud and proud.

3. The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Philadelphia Flyers

So, the Penguins haven’t stolen any Stanley Cups from the Philadelphia Flyers lately, but that doesnt mean these teams will like each other for any reason. You can’t look forward to a season of rivalry games without looking forward to the Pens taking on the Flyers.

The Stadium Series is over and done with but the bad blood will never go away. Every time these two teams meet it feels like a battle for their state. Hard play, big hits and a fiery determination to win fills the air every time these two teams get on the ice.

Pittsburgh faced off against Philadelphia four times this season, including the outdoor Stadium Series, and left the season with a split series. The Pens played hard and came out with two big wins from the four total match-ups.

As usual, these two teams will bring us action, bad blood and good games. Any Pennsylvania hockey fan knows how deep this rivalry runs and everything depends on which team you root for.

This season, the two teams will face off again and these games will be just as fiery as they’ve always been. The battle for Pennsylvania is one of the best reasons to be a hockey fan in the state and we can’t wait to see our Penguins take on their hometown rivals again this season.

2. The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the New York Rangers

Who doesn’t love a good Metropolitan Division rivalry? The Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers are two huge name teams who come with worldwide fan-bases and are slated as some of the NHL’s top teams. These two teams have always inspired top-notch rivalry-like performances and this season won’t be any different.

The Rangers didn’t finish any closer to a Stanley Cup than usual and, after some team tweaking, this team is going to want to come into the season on top. Luckily for Pittsburgh, the Penguins have often had the upper hand over New York, especially lately.

Last season, the two teams faced off in a total of five games which resulted in Penguins’ dominance of three wins to two. The Pens didn’t just top the Rangers in their wins, they dominated, with one shootout with and two wins where they had five goals on their opponent.

New York is going to come into these games hard because, simply put, they want to win. Getting the edge over the Penguins would help the Rangers get closer to their goal, the Stanley Cup, and they’ll bring hard play. The Penguins, however, are no stranger to rivalry-like games and will bring their hardest play to top their opponent.