1970–71 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1970–71 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's fourth season in the National Hockey League.

1970–71 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	6th West
1970–71 record	21–37–20
Goals for	221
Goals against	240
Team information
General manager	Red Kelly
Coach	Red Kelly
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Keith McCreary Duane Rupp Ken Schinkel Bob Woytowich
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	9,671
Team leaders
Goals	Jean Pronovost (21)
Assists	Bryan Hextall (32)
Points	Bryan Hextall (48)
Penalty minutes	Bryan Hextall (133)
Wins	Les Binkley (11)
Goals against average	Les Binkley (2.85)

Regular season

Final standings

West Division[1]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	49	20	9	277	184	+93	107
2	St. Louis Blues	78	34	25	19	223	208	+15	87
3	Philadelphia Flyers	78	28	33	17	207	225	−18	73
4	Minnesota North Stars	78	28	34	16	191	223	−32	72
5	Los Angeles Kings	78	25	40	13	239	303	−64	63
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	21	37	20	221	240	−19	62
7	California Golden Seals	78	20	53	5	199	320	−121	45

Schedule and results

1970–71 Schedule
October: 2–4–3 (Home: 1–2–1 ; Road: 1–2–2), 7 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 1 Oct 10 Buffalo Sabres 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,189) 0–1–0 0 2 Oct 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (12,134) 0–2–0 0 3 Oct 17 Philadelphia Flyers 0–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,535) 0–2–1 1 4 Oct 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (8,656) 0–2–2 2 5 Oct 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (6,903) 0–3–2 2 6 Oct 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 California Golden Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (4,043) 1–3–2 4 7 Oct 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum (13,329) 1–3–3 5 8 Oct 28 Los Angeles Kings 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (5,028) 2–3–3 7 9 Oct 31 Chicago Black Hawks 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,412) 2–4–3 7
November: 3–6–5 (Home: 3–2–2 ; Road: 0–4–3), 11 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 10 Nov 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (14,620) 2–5–3 7 11 Nov 4 Vancouver Canucks 3–8 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (5,029) 3–5–3 9 12 Nov 7 Boston Bruins 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,909) 3–5–4 10 13 Nov 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (12,662) 3–5–5 11 14 Nov 10 Los Angeles Kings 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,089) 3–6–5 11 15 Nov 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,250) 3–6–6 12 16 Nov 14 California Golden Seals 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,075) 4–6–6 14 17 Nov 19 St. Louis Blues 1–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,027) 4–7–6 14 18 Nov 21 Detroit Red Wings 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,298) 5–7–6 16 19 Nov 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,994) 5–8–6 16 20 Nov 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,384) 5–8–7 17 21 Nov 25 Buffalo Sabres 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,705) 5–8–8 18 22 Nov 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,838) 5–9–8 18 23 Nov 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,250) 5–10–8 18
December: 5–7–3 (Home: 5–2–1 ; Road: 0–5–2), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 24 Dec 2 Montreal Canadiens 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,601) 5–10–9 19 25 Dec 5 Vancouver Canucks 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,111) 6–10–9 21 26 Dec 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,994) 6–11–9 21 27 Dec 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,034) 7–11–9 23 28 Dec 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (12,222) 7–11–10 24 29 Dec 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (17,764) 7–12–10 24 30 Dec 12 Minnesota North Stars 1–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,031) 7–13–10 24 31 Dec 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,222) 7–14–10 24 32 Dec 19 Detroit Red Wings 1–9 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,011) 8–14–10 26 33 Dec 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (-) 8–15–10 26 34 Dec 23 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–6 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,250) 8–16–10 26 35 Dec 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–8 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,994) 8–17–10 26 36 Dec 26 Boston Bruins 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,050) 9–17–10 28 37 Dec 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,753) 9–17–11 29 38 Dec 31 Minnesota North Stars 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,337) 10–17–11 31
January: 6–5–1 (Home: 4–1–0 ; Road: 2–4–1), 13 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 39 Jan 2 New York Rangers 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,444) 10–18–11 31 40 Jan 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (12,127) 10–19–11 31 41 Jan 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,485) 10–20–11 31 42 Jan 13 Los Angeles Kings 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,575) 11–20–11 33 43 Jan 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (11,360) 11–20–12 34 44 Jan 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–3 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum (14,098) 12–20–12 36 45 Jan 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 California Golden Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (3,293) 13–20–12 38 46 Jan 21 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (7,587) 13–21–12 38 47 Jan 23 Vancouver Canucks 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,304) 14–21–12 40 48 Jan 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,039) 15–21–12 42 49 Jan 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (-) 15–22–12 42 50 Jan 30 Chicago Black Hawks 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,528) 16–22–12 44
February: 3–7–3 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 0–5–2), 9 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 51 Feb 3 California Golden Seals 1–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,208) 17–22–12 46 52 Feb 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (18,206) 17–22–13 47 53 Feb 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–1 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (-) 17–23–13 47 54 Feb 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,211) 17–24–13 47 55 Feb 10 Philadelphia Flyers 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,311) 18–24–13 49 56 Feb 13 Chicago Black Hawks 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,755) 19–24–13 51 57 Feb 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (15,042) 19–25–13 51 58 Feb 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,413) 19–26–13 51 59 Feb 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–6 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (9,969) 19–26–14 52 60 Feb 20 New York Rangers 2–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,200) 19–27–14 52 61 Feb 24 St. Louis Blues 5–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,005) 19–27–15 53 62 Feb 27 New York Rangers 4–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (12,419) 19–28–15 53 63 Feb 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–4 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (12,683) 19–29–15 53
March: 2–7–3 (Home: 2–3–3 ; Road: 0–4–0), 7 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 64 Mar 3 Montreal Canadiens 0–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,011) 20–29–15 55 65 Mar 6 Boston Bruins 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (13,020) 20–30–15 55 66 Mar 7 California Golden Seals 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (11,283) 20–30–16 56 67 Mar 10 Philadelphia Flyers 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,590) 20–30–17 57 68 Mar 13 Minnesota North Stars 0–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,284) 20–30–18 58 69 Mar 14 Montreal Canadiens 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (8,741) 20–31–18 58 70 Mar 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 California Golden Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (2,647) 20–32–18 58 71 Mar 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–6 Vancouver Canucks Pacific Coliseum (15,570) 20–33–18 58 72 Mar 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–8 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (7,771) 20–34–18 58 73 Mar 24 Detroit Red Wings 2–8 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (9,025) 21–34–18 60 74 Mar 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (14,620) 21–35–18 60 75 Mar 31 Buffalo Sabres 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (7,051) 21–36–18 60
April: 0–1–2 (Home: 0–0–1 ; Road: 0–1–1), 2 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 76 Apr 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Memorial Auditorium (10,429) 21–36–19 61 77 Apr 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (18,529) 21–37–19 61 78 Apr 4 St. Louis Blues 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Civic Arena (10,117) 21–37–20 62
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins failed to make the playoffs, despite making it last year.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[2] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Bryan Hextall Jr. 76 16 32 48 –23 133 Jean Pronovost 78 21 24 45 8 35 Andy Bathgate 76 15 29 44 –11 34 Wally Boyer 68 11 30 41 10 30 Ron Schock 71 14 26 40 2 20 Dean Prentice 69 21 17 38 –8 18 Ken Schinkel 50 15 19 34 –19 6 Greg Polis 61 18 15 33 –6 40 Duane Rupp 59 5 28 33 –10 34 Keith McCreary 59 21 12 33 7 24 Dunc McCallum 77 9 20 29 –13 95 Bob Woytowich 78 4 22 26 8 30 Nick Harbaruk 78 13 12 25 –9 108 Syl Apps Jr.^† 31 9 16 25 3 21 Val Fonteyne 70 4 9 13 –8 0 Rod Zaine 37 8 5 13 –8 21 Glen Sather^‡ 46 8 3 11 0 96 Jim Morrison 73 0 10 10 –12 32 Bob Blackburn 64 4 5 9 0 54 Bryan Watson 43 2 6 8 –5 119 John Stewart 15 2 1 3 –9 9 Robin Burns 10 0 3 3 1 4 Rick Kessell 6 0 2 2 1 2 Sheldon Kannegiesser 18 0 2 2 –9 29 Yvon Labre 21 1 1 2 2 19 Lowell MacDonald 10 0 1 1 –6 0 Steve Cardwell 5 0 1 1 –4 15 Total 221 351 572 — 1,028

Goaltenders

Regular Season[3]

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Les Binkley	34	11	11	10	89	2
Allan Smith	46	9	22	9	128	2
Cam Newton	5	1	3	1	16	0
Paul Hoganson	2	0	1	0	7	0
Total		21	37	20	240	4

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

• Ken Schinkel became the first player to record 100 assists with the Penguins. He did so in a 2–5 loss to California on March 17.
• Wally Boyer became the first player in franchise history to have a final plus-minus of at least +10.

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1970–71 season:[4]

Trades

October 2, 1970	To Montreal Canadiens cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Robin Burns
October 9, 1970	To Buffalo Sabres Dave Dryden	To Pittsburgh Penguins cash
January 24, 1971	To Buffalo Sabres Terry Ball	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jean-Guy Lagace
January 26, 1971	To New York Rangers Glen Sather	To Pittsburgh Penguins Syl Apps Jr. Sheldon Kannegiesser
May 1, 1971	To Boston Bruins cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Leiter

Other

Player	Date	Details
Roy Edwards	June 7, 1971	Claimed off of waivers from Detroit Red Wings
Rod Zaine	June 8, 1971	Lost in intra-league draft to Buffalo Sabres
Al Smith	June 8, 1971	#2 overall pick in intra-league draft from Detroit Red Wings
Jim Rutherford	June 8, 1971	#3 overall pick in intra-league draft from Detroit Red Wings
Dave Burrows	June 8, 1971	#5 overall pick in intra-league draft from Chicago Blackhawks
Rene Robert	June 8, 1971	#22 overall pick in intra-league draft from Buffalo Sabres
Tim Horton	June 8, 1971	Claimed in intra-league draft from New York Rangers

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
26		Syl Apps Jr.	C	R	23	1964	Toronto, Ontario
9		Andy Bathgate	RW	R	38	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
30		Les Binkley	G	R	36	Undrafted	Owen Sound, Ontario
4		Bob Blackburn	D	L	33	Undrafted	Rouyn, Quebec
18		Wally Boyer	C	L	33	Undrafted	Cowan, Manitoba
10		Robin Burns	LW	L	24	Undrafted	Montreal, Quebec
15		Steve Cardwell	LW	L	20	1970	Toronto, Ontario
8		Val Fonteyne	LW	L	37	Undrafted	Wetaskiwin, Alberta
11		Nick Harbaruk	RW	R	27	Undrafted	Drohiczyn, Poland
7		Bryan Hextall Jr.	C	L	29	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
1		Paul Hoganson	G	R	21	1969	Toronto, Ontario
16		Sheldon Kannegiesser	D	L	23	Undrafted	North Bay, Ontario
23		Rick Kessell	C	L	21	1969	Toronto, Ontario
15		Yvon Labre	D	L	21	1969	Sudbury, Ontario
14		Lowell MacDonald	LW	R	29	Undrafted	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
6		Dunc McCallum	D	R	31	Undrafted	Flin Flon, Manitoba
10		Keith McCreary (A)	RW	L	30	Undrafted	Sundridge, Ontario
27		Jim Morrison	D	L	39	Undrafted	Montreal, Quebec
1		Cam Newton	G	L	21	1970	Peterborough, Ontario
22		Greg Polis	RW	L	20	1970	Westlock, Alberta
20		Dean Prentice	LW	L	38	Undrafted	Schumacher, Ontario
19		Jean Pronovost	RW	R	25	Undrafted	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
2		Duane Rupp (A)	D	L	33	Undrafted	MacNutt, Saskatchewan
12		Ken Schinkel (A)	RW	R	38	Undrafted	Jansen, Saskatchewan
17		Ron Schock	C	L	27	Undrafted	Chapleau, Ontario
29		Allan Smith	G	L	25	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
23		John Stewart	LW	L	21	1970	Eriksdale, Manitoba
5		Bryan Watson	D	R	28	Undrafted	Bancroft, Ontario
3		Bob Woytowich (A)	D	R	29	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
24		Rod Zaine	C	L	25	Undrafted	Ottawa, Ontario

Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1970 NHL Entry Draft.[5]

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	7	Greg Polis	Left Wing	Canada	Estevan Bruins (WCHL)
2	21	John Stewart	Left Wing	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
3	35	Larry Bignell	Defenceman	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
4	49	Connie Forey	Left Wing	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
5	63	Steve Cardwell	Left Wing	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
6	77	Bob Fitchner	Center	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
7	90	Jim Pearson	Defenceman	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
8	102	Cam Newton	Goaltender	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
9	110	Ron Lemieux	Defenceman	Canada	Dauphin Kings (MJHL)

References

• "1970–71 Pittsburgh Penguins Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
• Player stats on Hockey Database
• Game log on NHL Database

1. "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
2. "1970–1971 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
3. "1970–1971 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
4. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions.
5. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.