The wait is over Penguins fans, since the 2021-2022 season, after all the playoff pushes and missing the playoffs and selling off key assets and a new coach and general manager. Pittsburgh is playoff bound for the first time in four years and the sigh of relief can be had.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang all get one final kick at the can as they have gone through the ups and downs over the past couple of failures of seasons. Dan Muse, in his first season with the team and as a head coach in the NHL will lead his troops into battle for the quest of the oldest trophy in North American sports, the Stanley Cup.
Malkin and Crosby are the first set of teammates in NHL history to record 60+ points in the same season at age 38 or older (age at start of season)
It wasn't the prettiest but the Penguins were able to withstand some sloppy play throughout the hockey game and walk away with a 5-2 win over the eliminated New Jersey Devils. The crowd was mainly dominant in black and gold.
For the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to game one of the regular season, Vegas odds had the Penguins had at seven percent odds to make the playoffs and these Pittsburgh Penguins were counted out and harped on from day one. That made them a dangerous team with nothing to lose and something to prove. They did exactly that this season with moments, memories and milestones that make this team special.
started from the bottom now we’re here. pic.twitter.com/AocRGFQQgw
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) April 10, 2026
With a Flyers 6-3 regulation loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, the Penguins have also secured home ice advantage (second spot in the Metropolitan) in the first round of the playoffs with the opponent still yet to be decided as the wild card and final metro spot till wild with many key match-ups to watch going forward. What a sight it is to know game one will be at PPG Paints Arena with the veterans and rookies heading to the dance.
The Penguins have the most goals by new additions to the team in the NHL this season with 99. Kyle Dubas was able to bring in key pieces in the previous off-season and during the season and at the trade deadline that have the Penguins right where they deserve to be which is giving the veterans a chance to compete for lord stanley.
Pittsburgh ranks second in the NHL behind only the first-place overall Colorado Avalanche with 282 goals scored in 2025-26. This marks the Penguins highest scoring team in the Sidney Crosby Era on a goals-per-game basis which is a 3.57 average.
The culture that Dan Muse fused into this team as a first time head coach is not talked about enough and it speaks volumes as to where the Penguins are now with him at helm as head coach of this Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club since he arrived in the 2025 off-season.
It's time now to figure out some loose ends before Game One comes around to Pittsburgh on March 18, or 19 vs an opponent which we will soon find out by either Saturday or Monday.