2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins Season Recap

2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins Season Recap

2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins: Youngsters

The middle to late 2000s marked the beginning of a change back to winning hockey for the 2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins, as they began the era of center Sidney Crosby in 2005. The year prior, left winger Evgeni Malkin was taken by the Penguins with the 2nd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. After successfully negotiating a deal for a new hockey arena, the Penguins were guaranteed to stay in the Steel City.

Regular Season Success

Record and Home-Ice Advantage

The Penguins went 47-24-11 (including overtime losses) in 2006-07, finishing just 2 points behind the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh went 26-10-5 at their home arena, the Civic Arena (commonly known as Mellon Arena), and 21-14-6 on the road.

Head-to-Head Dominance

In head-to-head play, the Penguins went 8-0 against the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1-2 against the New York Rangers, 4-0 against the Washington Capitals, 3-0-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 against the Ottawa Senators, 2-0-2 against the Boston Bruins, 2-1-1 against both the Atlanta Thrashers and the Montreal Canadiens, and 2-2 against both the Buffalo Sabres and the Florida Panthers.

A Young Core Emerges

Crosby and Malkin Lead the Way

In his second NHL season, at age 19, Sidney Crosby had 36 goals and 84 assists for 120 points, with 13 power-play goals, 48 power-play assists, and 4 game-winning goals on 250 shots. Evgeni Malkin played his first season at age 20 and had 33 goals and 52 assists for 85 points, with 16 power-play goals, 24 power-play assists, and 6 game-winning goals on 242 shots.

Jordan Staal Joins the Mix

The group of talented youngsters also added center Jordan Staal, selected 2nd overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, who played his first season at age 18. Staal had 29 goals and 13 assists for 42 points, with 7 short-handed goals and 4 game-winning goals on 131 shots.

Veteran Leadership and Depth Scoring

Being anything but young in hockey, 38-year-old right winger Mark Recchi signed with the Penguins in free agency for a third stint with the organization. Recchi mentored the young players while turning back the clock on his own game, posting 24 goals and 44 assists for 68 points, with 14 power-play goals and 13 power-play assists on 190 shots. Right winger Michel Ouellet had 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points, with 11 power-play goals and 8 power-play assists on 148 shots, while center Erik Christensen added 18 goals and 15 assists on 133 shots.

Left winger Ryan Malone had 16 goals and 15 assists on 125 shots. Defenseman Ryan Whitney had 14 goals and 45 assists for 59 points, with 9 power-play goals and 24 power-play assists on 129 shots. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar had 13 goals and 54 assists for 67 points, with 10 power-play goals and 38 power-play assists on 191 shots. Center Maxime Talbot had 13 goals and 11 assists, with 4 short-handed goals and 4 game-winning goals on 88 shots, and right winger Colby Armstrong had 12 goals and 22 assists on 145 shots.

Power Play Prowess and Fleury’s Steady Presence

The youth movement on display with the 2006-07 Pittsburgh Penguins produced a great abundance of power-play opportunities, which led to plenty of scoring. As a team, the Penguins scored 94 power-play goals, the most in the NHL, and drew 463 power-play opportunities, also the most in the league.

While the Penguins had an explosive offense that posed a big problem for the rest of the NHL, they also had a reliable goaltender preventing goals from being scored. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury went 40-16-9, allowing 184 goals on 1,954 shots across 3,905 minutes, recording 1,770 saves, a .906 save percentage, a 2.83 goals-against average, and 5 shutouts.

While November and December were shaky months for the Penguins, the team fared well in every other stretch of the regular season, going 6-6 in October, 8-2-2 in January, 9-3-1 in February, 12-3-2 in March, and 2-1 in April. The Penguins rattled off a 6-game winning streak that began with a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on February 6 and ended with a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on February 18.

Playoff Heartbreak Against Ottawa

While the regular season proved to be a clear indicator of the team’s future success, there wouldn’t be immediate success for the Penguins, as they were bumped out of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals by the Ottawa Senators, 4 games to 1. The only game Pittsburgh won was Game 2 on April 14 at Scotiabank Place, by a score of 4-3.

The scoring began with a power-play goal by Ryan Whitney 3:01 into the first period. The Senators applied pressure in the second period, as center Jason Spezza scored 8:28 in, followed by a power-play goal from right winger Daniel Alfredsson at 16:44. Just 2:04 into the third period, left winger Gary Roberts scored a power-play goal for Pittsburgh, and at 6:18, center Chris Kelly answered for Ottawa. At 9:34, Jordan Staal scored to tie the game, and at 11:44, Sidney Crosby netted the game-winning goal.

Building Toward a Championship

The abrupt end to their 2007 playoff run only motivated the Pittsburgh Penguins to band together as a team and sharpen their skills. Two years later, in 2009, Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and the rest of the young core would realize their potential and win the Stanley Cup.