
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[]
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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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[]
|
|
Draft Picks[]
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality |
---|---|---|---|
2 | 15 | Rick Kessell | ![]() |
3 | 26 | Michel Briere | ![]() |
4 | 38 | Yvon Labre | ![]() |
5 | 50 | Ed Patenaude | ![]() |
6 | 62 | Paul Hoganson | ![]() |
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[]
References[]
- 1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.
- Player stats on Hockey Database
- Game log on NHL Database
Pittsburgh Penguins | |
---|---|
Team | Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • Mellon Arena • PPG Paints Arena |
Coaches | Sullivan • Kelly • Schinkel • Boileau • Wilson • Johnston • Angotti • Berry • Creamer • Ubriaco • Patrick • Johnson • Bowman • Constantine • Brooks • Hlinka • Kehoe • Olczyk • Therrien |
Seasons | 1967-68 • 1968-69 • 1969-70 • 1970-71 • 1971-72 • 1972-73 • 1973-74 • 1974-75 • 1975-76 • 1976-77 • 1977-78 • 1978-79 • 1979-80 • 1980-81 • 1981-82 • 1982-83 • 1983-84 • 1984-85 • 1985-86 • 1986-87 • 1987-88 • 1988-89 • 1989-90 • 1990-91 • 1991-92 • 1992-93 • 1993-94 • 1994-95 • 1995-96 • 1996-97 • 1997-98 • 1998-99 • 1999-00 • 2000-01 • 2001-02 • 2002-03 • 2003-04 • 2004-05 • 2005-06 • 2006-07 • 2007-08 • 2008-09 • 2009-10 • 2010-11 • 2011-12 • 2012-13 • 2013-14 • 2014-15 • 2015-16 • 2016-17 • 2017-18 • 2018-19 • |
Affiliates | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) |
1969–70 NHL season by team | |
---|---|
East | Boston • Chicago • Detroit • Montreal • New York • Toronto |
West | Los Angeles • Minnesota • Oakland • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • St. Louis |
See also | 1969 NHL Amateur Draft • All-Star Game • 1970 Stanley Cup Finals |
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