1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins season

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.

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	Canada	Center
3	32	Joe Noris	United States	Center
4	46	Gerry Methe	Canada	Defenceman
5	60	Dave Murphy	Canada	Goaltender
6	74	Ian Williams
7	88	Doug Elliott

Gallery

John McKenzie scores the game winner from Fred Stanfield and John Bucyk, December 5, 1971.

References

• Player stats at Hockey Database
• Game log on NHL Database
• 1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.