The 2024-2025 Pittsburgh Penguins are 3-3 through the first six games of the season. With a critical four game road West Coast/Canadian swing coming up this week taking the team to Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, the best case 10 game record could be 7-3, and the worst case could be 3-7.
How does this team rank with its counterparts that excelled and struggled in the first 10 games of the season during the shootout era?
It may come as no surprise they would be in the middle of the road.
Penguins best 10 game start
Diehard fans remember that the 2009-2010 Penguins raced out to a 9-1 start through the first ten games. That fast start did not equate to winning the division. That Penguins team finished 47-28-7, in second place in the Atlantic division consisting of the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and New York Islanders.
Today in @penguins History: Oct. 16, 2010 - Sidney Crosby 🚨🚨 in the 3rd per. as the #LetsGoPens beat the @NHLFlyers for the 6th straight time in Philadelphia, 5-1.
— PenguinsChronicles (@PensChronicles) October 16, 2024
Kunitz, @MarkLetestu & Cooke also 🚨. @JohnnyGoalie12 w/29 🛑 in 🥅. @Rupper17 🥊 Shelley.pic.twitter.com/lD4I4PQ15w
This was the year after the Stanley Cup win, and the Penguins charged into the playoffs with plans to repeat. The team was eliminated by the Montreal Canadians in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were the leading scorers in the regular season and the playoffs.
Penguins worst 10 game start
The worst 10 game start was also memorable because it came during Mario Lemieux's final season as a player and Sidney Crosby's rookie year. The team went 1-4-5 record during the early stages of the 2005-2006 season. The Penguins finished 22-46-14, last place in the division.
July 30, 2005: The @penguins select Sidney Crosby with the first pick of the NHL Draft.
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) July 31, 2024
pic.twitter.com/iAvTakfNIj
Led by head coach Craig Patrick, the 2005 team gave up 316 goals while scoring 244. This season marked the fourth consecutive one that the Penguins failed to make the playoffs.
Crosby and Lemieux's relationship as housemates and mentor and protege was smoother than their play on the ice in that season. Crosby earned the dubious honor of being the only rookie in NHL history to score 100 points and earn 100 penalty minutes. Lemieux turned 40 during the season and dealt with atrial fibrulation.
Conclusion
A look back at these teams has proven just how much things have changed (division structure is the most obvious) and how much things have stayed the same (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still putting up numbers in Pittsburgh.)
How the 2024-2025 team fares at ten games and beyond remains to be seen. Fans hope they give off 2009-2010 vibes more so than 2005-2006 ones.