Rivalries in hockey have existed since the NHL’s founding in 1917. The Pittsburgh Penguins have had rivals since they joined the league in 1967 with the team’s six-team expansion. Among the trashy arguments, bitter fights, and elimination rivalry, the following teams may be considered the Penguins’ fiercest rivals of the Sidney Crosby era.
Washington Capitals
Step aside Philly, there’s a new opponent in town. The rivalry between the Capitals and the Penguins has been one of the most prevalent since the rookie seasons of Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in 2005-2006. While Crosby’s fight against Ovechkin escalated the rivalry, league realignment, playoff playoffs, and questionable hitting by players on both teams fueled the fire.
The battles between the two were more intense since 2013-14 NHL realignment, which placed both clubs in the Capital Division. Not only do the teams go head-to-head four times a year and battle mercilessly for one of the top three spots in the division, but the animosity from the regular season carries over into the playoffs, where a meeting between the clubs takes place. It was inevitable in the past few years.
The Penguins and Capitals met in the playoffs for the first time in the No. 8 and No. 87 era in 2009 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Both players earned their first playoff hat tricks in Game 2 of the seven-game series, but Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stole the show in the final game, with a terrific stop on an Ovechkin breakaway; Most goalkeepers don’t stop. Since then, the difference met three times In the second round, where the Penguins won two Stanley Cup championships, and the Capitals won one.
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If you thought the competition would drop now that the Ovechkin’s Capitals have finally raised the Stanley Cup pennant, think again. With high, sometimes dangerous hitters like Tom Wilson on the Capitals roster, and questionable hits and collisions like those between Evgeni Malkin and TJ Oshie On emerging, the bad blood would continue to boil between the two clubs for many years to come.
Philadelphia Flyers
Although the Caps are at the top of Pittsburgh’s most wanted list, the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t far behind. Both teams entered the league in the 1967 expansion, setting the stage for what would become the cross-state rivalry. The Flyers were known as the bad guys in the NHL along with the Broad Street Bullies in the mid-1970s.
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The Penguins–Flyers rivalry is well known, although it lost steam until the 2004-05 lockout. However, after the lockout, with rookies like Crosby, Malkin, Mike Richards and Claude Giroux entering the league, both teams were serious contenders for the trophy and the rivalry came back to life.
Since 2005-2006, the teams have met in the playoffs four times, each series with its share of fireworks. In Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Penguins were down 3-0 when Max Talbot and Daniel Carcillo decided to part with the gloves. Talbot was hit but ignited a spark under his seat. The Penguins kicked five unanswered goals and moved on to the next round.
This competition is not just for players. Coaches do too. That was evident on April 1, 2012, when Flyers coach Peter Laviolette and Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato climbed onto the boards and engaged in a shouting match while NBC announcer Pierre McGuire watched from between the benches. The two teams met again a few weeks later in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Flyers beat the Penguins in six games.
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The rivalry between the Penguins and the Flyers would last for years. In 2011, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman considered a realignment plan that would put the teams into different divisions and cut back the regular season meetings to two games. The Airmen’s then president, Peter Loko, told L.E Times Herald:
“This is a great rivalry that means a lot not only to us as a franchise, but to our fans, [Penguin] fans, and the entire state of Pennsylvania.” Times Herald10/31/11).
Columbus Blue Jackets
With only a three-hour drive separating PPG Paints Arena and Nationwide Arena, it was only a matter of time before the Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets developed a rivalry. The Blue Jackets entered the league in 2000 and spent their first 13 seasons in the Western Conference. Reaching the playoffs only once during that period (2008-2009), the clubs didn’t have many opportunities to develop the feud. That changed in 2013-14 with the reorganization.
That changed in 2013-14 with the realignment, and the Blue Jackets moved to the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The teams were scheduled to meet five times in the regular season and possibly in the playoffs. The Penguins and Blue Jackets met in the first round of the 2013-14 playoffs. The series went six games with the Penguins moving on to the next round. The two teams met again in the first round of the 2016-17 playoffs, where the Penguins were victorious in five matches.
The adage “familiarity breeds contempt” applies to the Penguins and the Blue Jackets, especially after former head coach John Tortorella joined Columbus. Tortorella often expressed his displeasure with the Penguins when he was the head coach of the New York Rangers, and his feelings haven’t changed since joining the Blue Jackets in 2015. Video interview 2017 With the Columbus Dispatch, Tortorella said:
Quite frankly, I don’t like it [Penguins]. I say that not personally, but as a team we want to beat. I think maybe I decide it has a little bit to do with competition.”
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at recent days, Tortorella took offense For comments made by Jack Johnson and former Penguins defenseman and general manager Jim Rutherford. Although the two teams met during the 2018-19 pre-season, emotions are expected to run high and tempers will flare up at the clubs’ first regular season meeting on November 24.
New York Rangers
The rivalry between the Penguins and the Rangers may not be the first to come to mind, but the seeds were sown long before the Crosby era, when Adam Graves cut Mario Lemieux In the 1992 Division Final, Patrick Lemieux broke his hand.
The disdain between these two clubs in the modern era comes as much from their audacity as from the rivalry of talented players. From 2005-06 through 2016-2017, Penguins vs. Rangers games were a goalie fan’s dream. Pittsburgh’s Fleury and the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist delivered amazing performances, making everyone stop and wonder, “Did he just stop that?”
The two teams have met four times in the playoffs during that span, with two going to the Rangers (2014 and 2015) and two going to the Penguins (2008 and 2016). Fleury and Lundqvist’s first-class play played a major role in all four series, but it was overshadowed by their on-ice antics, especially during the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinal games.
In the second game of the semifinals, Crosby and former Penguins Jaromir Jäger engaged in verbal sparring for most of the match. When asked about the reason for the chirping, Crosby told Tribune-Review’s Josh Yohe:
“just ask [Jagr]. I wasn’t talking,” (from “Stal Tactics,” Pittsburgh Tribune Review4/28/08).
Jagger didn’t give in too much either, saying he asked Crosby to “just play hockey,” which was interpreted as a drill against the Penguins captain, who the Rangers felt was the ornate scrimmage of the shootout.
At the time, no Rangers game was complete without some sort of trick from left winger Sean Avery, who had the league title. Unsportsmanlike behavior rule It was modified just for him, prompting Gary Roberts of the Penguins to call him, “an idiot”. On the night of April 27, Avery cut Flory from behind, causing Flory to hit Avery between the legs with his goal stick.
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Since Avery retired in 2012, some of the dirty showmanship has subsided allowing the competition to be fueled by players trying to outdo and outdo each other.
Detroit Red Wings
The Penguins’ hatred of the Red Wings can be summed up in two ways: Stanley Cup playoffs and Marian Hossa.
The 2008 Stanley Cup Final was monumental for many reasons: It was the first time two American teams had met in the final in five years. the first time the Penguins had returned to the Finals since 1992; The Red Wings were going for their fourth championship in 11 seasons. The Red Wings won six games, leaving the Penguins hungry to try again.
However, in the offseason, free agent Marian Hossa chose to forgo the black and gold in exchange for the red and white, signing a one-year deal with the Red Wings. When asked about his choice, Hossa said:
It was a really tough decision for me. When I compared the two teams, I felt like I would have a slightly better chance of winning the Cup in Detroit.
However, the penguins had the last laugh. Pittsburgh and Detroit both returned to the Cup Final in 2009, with Pittsburgh capturing their third franchise championship on two goals by Talbot in Game 7 and a diving save from Fleury as time neared zero.
Despite the satisfaction of making Hossa eat his words, the rivalry seemed to end with a handshake and cup presentation. The Red Wings moved to the Eastern Conference with the 2013–14 realignment, eliminating the chance of another Stanley Cup Final between the clubs.
In addition, many of the Red Wings players and coaches who made the competition so intense—such as Hossa, coach Mike Babcock, and quarterback Henrik Zetterberg—either transferred to other teams or retired. Perhaps the Eastern Conference final between the two clubs could reignite some of the 2008-09 animosity.
New York Islanders
The Islanders have been considered rivals of the Penguins since the mid-1970s thanks to the clubs frequent playoff meetings. This rivalry seemed to have died down after the 2004-05 lockout but has since picked up speed bout Between the two teams on February 11, 2011.
The atmosphere was still high from the game nine days earlier when the Penguins’ Talbot threw a questionable check on Island player Blake Como, and guards Brent Johnson and Rick DiPietro scrapped center ice. Johnson broke DiPietro’s face with a single punch, causing him to miss six weeks from the fracture and knee swelling he experienced while falling onto the ice.
The bloodbath game resulted in a $100,000 fine for the Islanders organization, two Islanders suspensions and one Penguin suspension, 65 penalties, and a total of 346 penalty minutes. The Penguins and Islanders haven’t seen a rivalry as fierce as this since, but it was shocking enough to earn them a spot on the roster for the two-game rivalry that would live on badly.