1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	2nd West
1969–70 record	26–38–12
Goals for	182
Goals against	238
Team information
General manager	Jack Riley
Coach	Red Kelly
Alternate captains	Keith McCreary Duane Rupp Ken Schinkel Bob Woytowich
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	6,998
Team leaders
Goals	Dean Prentice (26)
Assists	Michel Brière (32)
Points	Dean Prentice (51)
Penalty minutes	Bryan Watson (189)
Wins	Al Smith (15)
Goals against average	Joe Daley (2.95)

The 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Hockey League. The Penguins finished 2nd in the West Division and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the Division Semi-finals, they defeated the Oakland Seals 4 games to 0 and then lost in the Division Finals to the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 2.

Off-season

Having not made the playoffs in their first two seasons, GM Jack Riley overhauled the Penguins via the inter and intra-league draft. He added five players who became regulars including Dean Prentice, Nick Harbaruk, Glen Sather, Bob Blackburn and most significantly, goalie Al Smith.

Via the amateur draft, Riley picked promising center Michel Brière and traded for Ron Schock and Bryan Hextall. Hextall played the next four seasons for the Penguins while Schock played eight and became the team's captain.

The Penguins jerseys remained the same as in the 1968-69 season.

Regular Season

Michel Brière scores his first NHL goal, November 1, 1969.

Rick Kessell played his first NHL game on March 21, 1970 in the 5-3 loss to the Chicago Black Hawks.

Tragedy struck the Penguins in 1970 when promising rookie center Michel Briere, who finished third in scoring on the team, was injured in a car crash. After spending a year in the hospital, he died.

Final Standings

West Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	224	179	86
Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	182	238	64
Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	224	257	60
Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	169	243	58
Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	197	225	58
Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	150	168	290	38

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 11, 1969	2–2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	0–0–1
2	T	October 15, 1969	3–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	0–0–2
3	T	October 18, 1969	3–3	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	0–0–3
4	L	October 19, 1969	0–4	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	0–1–3
5	L	October 21, 1969	3–4	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	0–2–3
6	L	October 22, 1969	0–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	0–3–3
7	W	October 25, 1969	4–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	1–3–3
8	L	October 29, 1969	1–3	New York Rangers (1969–70)	1–4–3
9	W	November 1, 1969	6–3	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	2–4–3
10	L	November 2, 1969	3–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	2–5–3
11	L	November 5, 1969	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	2–6–3
12	L	November 8, 1969	1–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	2–7–3
13	W	November 12, 1969	3–0	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	3–7–3
14	L	November 13, 1969	0–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	3–8–3
15	W	November 15, 1969	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	4–8–3
16	L	November 19, 1969	0–4	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	4–9–3
17	W	November 22, 1969	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	5–9–3
18	L	November 23, 1969	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	5–10–3
19	T	November 26, 1969	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	5–10–4
20	W	November 29, 1969	5–3	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	6–10–4
21	T	November 30, 1969	3–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	6–10–5
22	W	December 3, 1969	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	7–10–5
23	L	December 6, 1969	0–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	7–11–5
24	W	December 7, 1969	3–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	8–11–5
25	W	December 10, 1969	2–0	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	9–11–5
26	L	December 12, 1969	1–4	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	9–12–5
27	L	December 14, 1969	1–2	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	9–13–5
28	L	December 17, 1969	2–5	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	9–14–5
29	L	December 20, 1969	4–6	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	9–15–5
30	L	December 21, 1969	0–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	9–16–5
31	W	December 26, 1969	3–2	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	10–16–5
32	L	December 27, 1969	0–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	10–17–5
33	W	December 31, 1969	4–2	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	11–17–5
34	L	January 3, 1970	0–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	11–18–5
35	T	January 4, 1970	4–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	11–18–6
36	L	January 7, 1970	3–5	New York Rangers (1969–70)	11–19–6
37	L	January 8, 1970	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	11–20–6
38	L	January 10, 1970	3–5	Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	11–21–6
39	L	January 14, 1970	0–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	11–22–6
40	L	January 17, 1970	0–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	11–23–6
41	W	January 18, 1970	6–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	12–23–6
42	T	January 21, 1970	3–3	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	12–23–7
43	W	January 24, 1970	4–2	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	13–23–7
44	L	January 25, 1970	1–3	@ Boston Bruins (1969–70)	13–24–7
45	T	January 28, 1970	4–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1969–70)	13–24–8
46	W	January 31, 1970	2–1	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	14–24–8
47	L	February 1, 1970	0–6	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	14–25–8
48	W	February 4, 1970	7–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	15–25–8
49	W	February 7, 1970	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	16–25–8
50	W	February 8, 1970	6–3	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	17–25–8
51	L	February 11, 1970	1–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	17–26–8
52	L	February 14, 1970	0–3	Boston Bruins (1969–70)	17–27–8
53	W	February 15, 1970	4–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	18–27–8
54	W	February 17, 1970	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	19–27–8
55	W	February 19, 1970	6–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	20–27–8
56	L	February 21, 1970	3–6	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	20–28–8
57	L	February 25, 1970	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	20–29–8
58	W	February 26, 1970	1–0	Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	21–29–8
59	W	February 28, 1970	3–2	Oakland Seals (1969–70)	22–29–8
60	W	March 4, 1970	2–1	Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	23–29–8
61	L	March 5, 1970	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1969–70)	23–30–8
62	T	March 7, 1970	2–2	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	23–30–9
63	T	March 8, 1970	0–0	@ New York Rangers (1969–70)	23–30–10
64	T	March 11, 1970	2–2	@ Oakland Seals (1969–70)	23–30–11
65	L	March 12, 1970	1–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1969–70)	23–31–11
66	L	March 14, 1970	3–6	@ Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	23–32–11
67	L	March 18, 1970	0–2	New York Rangers (1969–70)	23–33–11
68	L	March 19, 1970	1–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	23–34–11
69	L	March 21, 1970	3–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1969–70)	23–35–11
70	L	March 22, 1970	4–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1969–70)	23–36–11
71	W	March 25, 1970	2–0	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	24–36–11
72	W	March 28, 1970	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	25–36–11
73	T	March 29, 1970	5–5	St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	25–36–12
74	W	April 1, 1970	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1969–70)	26–36–12
75	L	April 4, 1970	1–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1969–70)	26–37–12
76	L	April 5, 1970	1–5	Minnesota North Stars (1969–70)	26–38–12

Playoffs

Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Oakland Seals 0

#26 Dunc McCallum checks #5 Carol Vadnais as Les Binkley makes a save, Quarter-finals Game 4, April 12, 1970.

In Game 1, Nick Harbaruk's goal midway through the third period was the winner as Pittsburgh won 2–1. In Game 2, Gary Jarrett gave Oakland a 1–0 lead, but Pittsburgh came back to win 3–1. Game 3 at Oakland featured a hat trick by Ken Schinkel of the Penguins as Pittsburgh won 5–2. In Game 4, Oakland had 1–0 and 2–1 leads, but the Seals just couldn't hold on and the game was tied 2–2 at the end of regulation time. Michel Brière scored the winner as the Penguins won the first playoff series in their history.

St. Louis Blues 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 2

The Penguins would reach the playoffs for the first time in 1970, advancing to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the St. Louis Blues. In the West Division Finals, the St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

1970 Playoffs

Conference Semi-finals vs Oakland: 4–0 (Home: 2–0 ; Road: 2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 8 Oakland Seals 1 – 2 Pittsburgh 1–0 2 April 9 Oakland 1 – 3 Pittsburgh 2–0 3 April 11 Pittsburgh 5 – 2 Oakland 3–0 4 April 12 Pittsburgh 3 – 2 Oakland 4–0 Conference Finals vs St. Louis Blues: 2–4 (Home: 2–1 ; Road: 0–3) # Date Visitor Score Home Series 1 April 19 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 St. Louis Blues 0–1 2 April 21 Pittsburgh 1 – 4 St. Louis 0–2 3 April 23 St. Louis 2 – 3 Pittsburgh 1–2 4 April 26 St. Louis 1 – 2 Pittsburgh 2–2 5 April 28 Pittsburgh 0 – 5 St. Louis 2–3 6 April 30 St. Louis 4 – 3 Pittsburgh 2–4

Player Stats

Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

#	Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
20	Dean Prentice	75	26	25	51	14
12	Ken Schinkel	72	20	25	45	19
21	Michel Briere	76	12	32	44	20
19	Jean Pronovost	72	20	21	41	45
7	Bryan Hextall	66	12	19	31	87
17	Ron Schock	76	8	21	29	40
10	Keith McCreary	60	18	8	26	67
16	Glen Sather	76	12	14	26	114
8	Val Fonteyne	68	11	15	26	2
18	Wally Boyer	72	11	12	23	34
11	Nick Harbaruk	74	5	17	22	56
14	Rick Kessell	8	1	2	3	2
25	Ron Snell	3	0	1	1	0
15	George Swarbrick	12	0	1	1	8

Defencemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

#	Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
3, 23	Bob Woytowich	68	8	25	33	49
26, 27	Jim Morrison	59	5	15	20	40
2	Duane Rupp	64	2	14	16	18
6	Tracy Pratt	65	5	7	12	124
4	Bob Blackburn	60	4	7	11	51
5	Bryan Watson	61	1	9	10	189
26	Mike McMahon	12	1	3	4	19
26	Dunc McCallum	14	0	0	0	16

Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

#	Player	GP	MIN	W	L	T	SO	GAA
1	Joe Daley	9	528	1	5	3	0	2.95
29	Al Smith	46	2555	15	20	8	2	3.03
30	Les Binkley	27	1477	10	13	1	3	3.21

Awards and Records

• The Penguins did not win any awards this season.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1969–70 season:

Trades

May 20, 1969	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Hextall	To Vancouver Canucks (WHL) Paul Andrea John Arbour loan of Andy Bathgate
June 6, 1969	To Pittsburgh Penguins Craig Cameron Ron Schock	To St. Louis Blues Lou Angotti 1st round pick in 1971 Draft (Gene Carr)
October 28, 1969	To Pittsburgh Penguins Mike McMahon	To Detroit Red Wings Billy Dea
November, 1969	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jim Morrison	To Baltimore Clippers (AHL) Bob Rivard cash

Additions and Subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Nick Harbaruk Vancouver Canucks (WHL) Inter-League Draft (1969–06) Bob Blackburn New York Rangers Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11) Dean Prentice Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11) Glen Sather Boston Bruins Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11) Al Smith Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Subtractions Player New team Via Noel Price Springfield Kings (AHL) Reverse Draft (1969–06–10) Charlie Burns Minnesota North Stars Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11) Marv Edwards Toronto Maple Leafs Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11) Bill Speer Boston Bruins Intra-League Draft (1969–06–11)

Draft Picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality
2	15	Rick Kessell	Canada
3	26	Michel Briere	Canada
4	38	Yvon Labre	Canada
5	50	Ed Patenaude	Canada
6	62	Paul Hoganson	Canada

Trivia

• Penguins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
  • Ken Schinkel during the 7-5 win over the Minnesota North Stars on February 4, 1970.

Gallery

Wayne Cashman scores on Joe Daley, October 18, 1969.

John McKenzie scores, assisted by John Bucyk and one of Bobby Orr's 5 assists, December 20, 1969.

Regular season

Playoffs

References

• 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.
• Player stats on Hockey Database
• Game log on NHL Database