2011-12 Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)

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51-25-6, Second in the Atlantic Division, Fourth in the Eastern Conference

TRANSACTIONS

MILESTONE WATCH

• Marc-Andre Fleury is one shutout away from leading the team in all-time  shutouts (23) and one win from replacing Barrasso (226) at the top of the list for team wins.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

October 6 - Evgeni Malkin scored the decisive goal in the shootout and Matt Cooke scored twice coming off his season-ending suspension. The powerplay went two-for-two and Kris Letang had two points in his 100th NHL game.

October 7 – Jordan Staal recorded his 200th point in the NHL with an assist on a goal against the Calgary Flames.

October 11 – Pascal Dupuis scored his 50th goal with Pittsburgh.

October 13 – Chris Kunitz’ assist against the Capitals was his 100th point with the team.

October 20- Arron Asham played in his 700th NHL game.

October 22 – Steve Sullivan played in his 900th career game. Jordan Staal scored twice to bring his career goal total to 100.

October 25 – Dan Bylsma coached his 200th game in the NHL and Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves against the New York Islanders for his 20th career shutout.

November 5 - Marc-Andre Fleury stopped the Los Angeles Kings’ Mike Richards on a penalty shot.  Fleury has made nine saves on 11 career penalty shots.

November 11 – Matt Cooke beat Dallas Stars Kari Lehtonen on a penalty shot.

November 15 –  Penguins forward James Neal became the first NHL player to score at least one goal in each of his team’s first eight home games when he scored against the Colorado Avalanche.

November 21 – Sidney Crosby had two goals and two assists in his first game back from a 320-day absence.  Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for  his second shutout of the season and 21st of his career.

November 23 - The Penguins celebrated the team’s 25 millionth paying customer (including playoffs). Zbynek Michalek played in his 500th NHL game.

November 25 – Paul Martin played in his 500th NHL game.  A new high attendance mark was set at the CONSOL Energy Center as a standing-room-only  crowd of  18,610 saw the Pens and the Ottawa Senators.

Novemeber 29 – Evgeni Malkin moved to tenth on team’s all-time scoring list with a goal against the New York Rangers.

December 3 –  Brent Johnson defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in his 300th NHL game.

December 17 – Simon Despres scored his first NHL goal; Evgeni Malkin scored his seventh NHL hat trick; Marc-Andre-Fleury earned his 200th win; Brooks Orpik picked up his 100th point in the NHL ; Pascal Dupuis played in his 700th NHL game and notched his 300th point; Carl Sneep recorded his first point.

December 23 – Steve Sullivan recorded his 700th point in the NHL with an assist on Jordan Staal’s goal against Winnipeg.

December 27 – With a goal and assist, Jordan Staal was the number one star of the game – his 400th NHL appearance.

January 13 – Coach Dan Bylsma moved to second place on team’s all-time coaching wins list with 136. Eddie Johnston is first with 232 wins.

January 15 – Evgeni Malkin had five points and scored a natural hat trick in the third period, his eighth hat trick with the Pens. Malkin, with 51 points, finished the game one point behind Vancouver Canucks Henrik Sedin in the scoring race.

Jamuary 24 – James Neal scored his 100th NHL goal.

February 11 – Richard Park scored his 100th NHL goal.

February 18 – Matt Cook’s short-handed goal against the Flyers was the first three-on-five shorthanded goal since Mario Lemieux pulled the feat against the Los Angeles Kings on February 13, 1988.

February 21 – Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for his 22nd shutout to  tie Tom Barrasso in all-time shutouts. Pittsburgh had goals from Evgeni Malkin and Steve Sullivan.   It was the first time the Penguins defeated the Rangers at the CONSOL Energy Center.

February 25 – In a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Evgeni Malkin had his second natural hat trick of the season, ninth in his career.

March 11 – Evgeni Malkin notched his 500 career point, in a game against  the Boston Bruins.

March 17 – The Pens defeated the New Jersey Devils, 5-2, for the 1,500th regular season victory.

March 20 – Evgeni Malkin’s first goal against Winnipeg was his his 200th goal and James Neal scored his first hat trick with the Pens.

March 25 – Marc-Andre Fleury established a new career high for wins in a season (41) after defeating the New Jersey Devils, 5-2.

March 27 – The New York Islanders won, 5-3, snapping Pittsburgh’s 10-game winning streak on home ice, third longest streak in team history.

March 29 – Evgeni Malkin scored his 47th goal of the year, which was his 100th point.  Malkin became the fourth Penguins player to record 100 points in three or more seasons. Lemieux (10), Jagr (4), Crosby (4).

March 30 – Sidney Crosby’s three assists against the Buffalo Sabres gave him 600 points in his 430-game career. Brooks Orpiks assist gave him 100 points in his career.

April 5 – The Penguins won their 50th game of the season as Marc-Andre Fleury won his 226th victory of his career to tie Tom Barrasso.

April 7 – Evgeni Malkin scored his 50th goal of the season and became the ninth Pittsburgh player in team history to hit the milestone.  Pascal Dupuis finished the season with a 17-consecutive game scoring streak, the longest in the NHL this season.