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71-72PitPen
1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 4th West
1971–72 record 26-38-14
Goals for 220
Goals against 250
Team information
General manager Leonard "Red" Kelly
Coach Red Kelly
Captain Vacant
Alternate captains Keith McCreary
Ken Schinkel
Bryan Watson
Bob Woytowich
Team leaders
Goals Greg Polis
Jean Pronovost (30)
Assists Syl Apps, Jr. (44)
Points Syl Apps, Jr. (59)
Penalty minutes Bryan Watson (212)
Wins Jim Rutherford (17)
Goals against average Roy Edwards (2.55)

The 1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Hockey League. The Penguins finished 4th in the West Division and made the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. They lost in the Quarter-finals to the Chicago Black Hawks 4 games to 0.

Off-season[]

Regular Season[]

Final Standings[]

West Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Chicago Black Hawks 78 46 17 15 256 166 107
Minnesota North Stars 78 37 29 12 212 191 86
St. Louis Blues 78 28 39 11 208 247 67
Pittsburgh Penguins 78 26 38 14 220 258 66
Philadelphia Flyers 78 26 38 14 200 236 66
California Golden Seals 78 21 39 18 216 288 60
Los Angeles Kings 78 20 49 9 206 305 49

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 W October 9, 1971 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 1–0–0
2 L October 10, 1971 1–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 1–1–0
3 W October 13, 1971 4–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 2–1–0
4 W October 16, 1971 2–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 3–1–0
5 W October 17, 1971 4–2 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 4–1–0
6 W October 20, 1971 8–1 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 5–1–0
7 L October 23, 1971 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 5–2–0
8 T October 24, 1971 1–1 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 5–2–1
9 L October 27, 1971 4–6 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 5–3–1
10 L October 28, 1971 0–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 5–4–1
11 T October 30, 1971 1–1 New York Rangers (1971–72) 5–4–2
12 L October 31, 1971 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 5–5–2
13 L November 3, 1971 3–5 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 5–6–2
14 L November 5, 1971 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 5–7–2
15 L November 7, 1971 1–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 5–8–2
16 W November 9, 1971 4–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 6–8–2
17 W November 10, 1971 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 7–8–2
18 W November 13, 1971 6–4 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 8–8–2
19 L November 16, 1971 1–5 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 8–9–2
20 L November 18, 1971 3–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 8–10–2
21 L November 20, 1971 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 8–11–2
22 L November 21, 1971 3–7 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 8–12–2
23 L November 24, 1971 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 8–13–2
24 L November 27, 1971 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 8–14–2
25 W December 1, 1971 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 9–14–2
26 W December 4, 1971 4–2 New York Rangers (1971–72) 10–14–2
27 L December 5, 1971 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 10–15–2
28 T December 8, 1971 1–1 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 10–15–3
29 T December 11, 1971 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 10–15–4
30 L December 12, 1971 1–6 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 10–16–4
31 L December 15, 1971 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 10–17–4
32 L December 18, 1971 3–4 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 10–18–4
33 T December 19, 1971 2–2 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 10–18–5
34 L December 22, 1971 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 10–19–5
35 W December 25, 1971 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 11–19–5
36 L December 26, 1971 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 11–20–5
37 L December 28, 1971 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 11–21–5
38 T December 31, 1971 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 11–21–6
39 T January 5, 1972 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 11–21–7
40 L January 8, 1972 0–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 11–22–7
41 L January 9, 1972 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 11–23–7
42 T January 12, 1972 2–2 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 11–23–8
43 L January 13, 1972 1–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 11–24–8
44 W January 15, 1972 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 12–24–8
45 L January 19, 1972 1–6 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 12–25–8
46 L January 22, 1972 0–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 12–26–8
47 T January 23, 1972 3–3 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 12–26–9
48 L January 26, 1972 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 12–27–9
49 L January 29, 1972 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 12–28–9
50 L January 30, 1972 0–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 12–29–9
51 W February 3, 1972 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 13–29–9
52 L February 5, 1972 1–8 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 13–30–9
53 W February 9, 1972 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 14–30–9
54 W February 10, 1972 6–1 Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 15–30–9
55 L February 12, 1972 3–8 New York Rangers (1971–72) 15–31–9
56 W February 13, 1972 6–4 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 16–31–9
57 W February 16, 1972 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 17–31–9
58 W February 17, 1972 2–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 18–31–9
59 L February 19, 1972 2–6 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 18–32–9
60 L February 20, 1972 0–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 18–33–9
61 L February 23, 1972 0–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 18–34–9
62 W February 26, 1972 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 19–34–9
63 L February 27, 1972 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 19–35–9
64 W March 2, 1972 7–4 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 20–35–9
65 W March 4, 1972 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 21–35–9
66 L March 5, 1972 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 21–36–9
67 L March 8, 1972 4–5 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 21–37–9
68 W March 11, 1972 6–4 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 22–37–9
69 T March 12, 1972 4–4 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 22–37–10
70 W March 14, 1972 7–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 23–37–10
71 T March 18, 1972 4–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) 23–37–11
72 T March 19, 1972 3–3 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 23–37–12
73 L March 22, 1972 3–4 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 23–38–12
74 W March 25, 1972 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 24–38–12
75 T March 26, 1972 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 24–38–13
76 W March 29, 1972 5–4 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 25–38–13
77 T April 1, 1972 4–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 25–38–14
78 W April 2, 1972 6–2 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 26–38–14

Playoffs[]

Chicago Black Hawks 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 0[]

1972 Playoffs
Round one vs Chicago: 0–4 (Home: 0–2 ; Road: 0–2)
# Date Visitor Score Home Series
1 April 5 Pittsburgh 1 – 3 Chicago Black Hawks 0–1
2 April 6 Pittsburgh 2 – 3 Chicago 0–2
3 April 8 Chicago 2 – 0 Pittsburgh 0–3
4 April 9 Chicago 6 – 5 Pittsburgh 0–4
  • Green background indicates win.
  • Red indicates loss.

Player Stats[]

Forwards[]

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

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Syl Apps 72 15 44 59 78
Jean Pronovost 68 30 23 53 12
Greg Polis 76 30 19 49 38
Ron Schock 77 17 29 46 22
Ken Schinkel 74 15 30 45 10
Bryan Hextall 78 20 24 44 126
Bob Leiter 78 14 17 31 18
Nick Harbaruk 78 12 17 29 46
Val Fonteyne 68 6 13 19 0
Al McDonough 37 7 11 18 8
Rene Robert 49 7 11 18 42
Steve Cardwell 28 7 8 15 18
Eddie Shack 18 5 9 14 12
John Stewart 25 2 8 10 23
Keith McCreary 33 4 4 8 22
Joe Noris 35 2 5 7 20
Bill Hicke 12 2 0 2 6
Brian McKenzie 6 1 1 2 4
Wally Boyer 1 0 1 1 0
Rick Kessell 3 0 1 1 0
Robin Burns 5 0 0 0 8

Defencemen[]

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

Player GP G AST PTS PIM
Bob Woytowich 31 1 4 5 8
Sheldon Kannegiesser 54 2 4 6 47
Tim Horton 44 2 9 11 40
Dave Burrows 77 2 10 12 48
Bryan Watson 75 3 17 20 212
Duane Rupp 34 4 18 22 32
Darryl Edestrand 77 10 23 33 52

Goaltending[]

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

Player GP W L T SO GAA
Les Binkley 31 7 15 5 0 3.51
Roy Edwards 15 2 8 4 0 2.55
Jim Rutherford 40 17 15 5 1 3.22

Transactions[]

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season:

Trades[]

May, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Bob Leiter
To Boston Bruins
cash
September 7, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Hicke
To California Golden Seals
cash
October 3, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
cash
To Vancouver Canucks
Bob Blackburn
October 6, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
cash
To Minnesota North Stars
Dean Prentice
November 22, 1971 To Pittsburgh Penguins
cash
To Detroit Red Wings
Bill Hicke
January 11, 1972 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Al McDonough
To Los Angeles Kings
Bob Woytowich
March 4, 1972 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Eddie Shack
To Buffalo Sabres
Rene Robert

Additions and Subtractions[]

Additions
Player Former team Via
Roy Edwards Detroit Red Wings waivers (1971–06–07)
Rene Robert Buffalo Sabres Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)
Dave Burrows Chicago Black Hawks Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)
Tim Horton New York Rangers Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)
Jim Rutherford Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)
Subtractions
Player New team Via
Al Smith Detroit Red Wings Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)
Rod Zaine Buffalo Sabres Intra-League Draft (1971–06–08)

Draft Picks[]

See also: 1971 NHL Amateur Draft
Round Overall pick Player Nationality Position
2 18 Brian McKenzie Flag of Canada Canada Center
3 32 Joe Noris Flag of the United States United States Center
4 46 Gerry Methe Flag of Canada Canada Defenceman
5 60 Dave Murphy Flag of Canada Canada Goaltender
6 74 Ian Williams
7 88 Doug Elliott

Gallery[]

References[]

Pittsburgh Penguins
Team FranchisePlayersCoachesGMsSeasonsRecordsDraft PicksMellon ArenaPPG Paints Arena
Coaches Sullivan • Kelly • Schinkel • Boileau • WilsonJohnston • Angotti • Berry • Creamer • Ubriaco • Patrick • Johnson • Bowman • Constantine • Brooks • Hlinka • Kehoe • Olczyk • Therrien
Seasons 1967-681968-691969-701970-711971-721972-731973-741974-751975-761976-771977-781978-791979-801980-811981-821982-831983-841984-851985-861986-871987-881988-891989-901990-911991-921992-931993-941994-951995-961996-971997-981998-991999-002000-012001-022002-032003-042004-052005-062006-072007-082008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-182018-19
Affiliates Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL), Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
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