2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 42nd season of Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began with two games against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden on October 4 and October 5, 2008.
| 2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins | |
|---|---|
Stanley Cup champions | |
Eastern Conference champions | |
| Division | 2nd Atlantic |
| Conference | 4th Eastern |
| 2008–09 record | 45–28–9 |
| Home record | 25–13–3 |
| Road record | 20–15–6 |
| Goals for | 264 |
| Goals against | 239 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Ray Shero |
| Coach | Michel Therrien (Oct.–Feb.) Dan Bylsma (Feb.–Jun.) |
| Captain | Sidney Crosby |
| Alternate captains | Evgeni Malkin (Oct., Feb.–Jun.) Brooks Orpik (Oct., Feb.) Hal Gill (Nov.) Rob Scuderi (Nov.) Matt Cooke (Dec.) Jordan Staal (Dec.) Petr Sykora (Jan.) Ryan Whitney (Jan.) Sergei Gonchar (Feb.–Jun.) |
| Arena | Mellon Arena |
| Average attendance | 16,975 102.6% capacity Total: 695,997 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Evgeni Malkin (35) |
| Assists | Evgeni Malkin (78) |
| Points | Evgeni Malkin (113) |
| Penalty minutes | Eric Godard (171) |
| Plus/minus | Rob Scuderi (+23) |
| Wins | Marc-Andre Fleury (35) |
| Goals against average | John Curry (2.40) |
On February 15, the team had a record of 27–25–5 and was five points out of playoff position. The organization fired head coach Michel Therrien and replaced him with Dan Bylsma, head coach of the organization's American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre. On February 26, the team traded defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks in return for Chris Kunitz. Before the trade deadline on March 4, they acquired Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders. Under Bylsma, the team went 18–3–4, including 10–1–2 in March, and lost only one home game.
The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. They did not repeat as champions of the Atlantic Division, but earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with 99 points. They began the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 15 against the Philadelphia Flyers. They beat the Flyers, Washington Capitals, and Carolina Hurricanes to earn a second-straight berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in a rematch of the previous season's Stanley Cup Finals to win the franchise's third league title. To date, this is the only Stanley Cup the Penguins have won without having home-ice advantage.