2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins season
The 2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 49th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 5, 1967. Their regular season games began on October 8, 2015 against the Dallas Stars. On December 12, the team had a record of 15–10–3. The organization then fired head coach Mike Johnston and replaced him with Mike Sullivan, head coach of the organization's American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
| 2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins | |
|---|---|
Stanley Cup champions | |
Eastern Conference champions | |
| Division | 2nd Metropolitan |
| Conference | 2nd Eastern |
| 2015–16 record | 48–26–8 |
| Home record | 26–11–4 |
| Road record | 22–15–4 |
| Goals for | 245 |
| Goals against | 203 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Jim Rutherford |
| Coach |
|
| Captain | Sidney Crosby |
| Alternate captains | |
| Arena | Consol Energy Center |
| Average attendance | 18,550 (100.9%) (41 games) |
| Minor league affiliate(s) | |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Sidney Crosby (36) |
| Assists | Kris Letang (51) |
| Points | Sidney Crosby (85) |
| Penalty minutes | Kris Letang (66) |
| Plus/minus | Chris Kunitz (+29) |
| Wins | Marc-Andre Fleury (35) |
| Goals against average | Matt Murray (2.00) |
The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season. They earned second place in the Metropolitan Division with 104 points. They began the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 13 against the New York Rangers, the team they were eliminated by in the Stanley Cup playoffs both of the previous two seasons. They went on to beat the Rangers in five games. In the second round the Pens defeated the Washington Capitals, the winners of the Presidents' Trophy, in six games. The team then played in their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2013 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Pens defeated the Lightning in seven games, despite trailing the series 3–2 after Game 5, to earn the franchise's fifth berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Penguins defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games to win the franchise's fourth league title.