2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins season

2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins
East Division champions
Division	1st East
2020–21 record	37–16–3
Home record	22–4–2
Road record	15–12–1
Goals for	196
Goals against	156
Team information
General manager	Jim Rutherford (Jan. 13 – Jan. 27) Patrik Allvin (interim, Jan. 27 – Feb. 9) Ron Hextall (Feb. 9 – May 26)
Coach	Mike Sullivan
Captain	Sidney Crosby
Alternate captains	Kris Letang Evgeni Malkin
Arena	PPG Paints Arena
Minor league affiliate(s)	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Sidney Crosby (24)
Assists	Sidney Crosby Kris Letang (38)
Points	Sidney Crosby (62)
Penalty minutes	Kris Letang (32)
Plus/minus	Kris Letang ( 19)
Wins	Tristan Jarry (25)
Goals against average	Casey DeSmith (2.54)

The 2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 54th season for the National Hockey League team that was established on June 5, 1967. On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Penguins would play this season in the East Division and would only play against the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs.

On April 29, 2021, the Penguins clinched a playoff berth with a 5–4 overtime win over the Washington Capitals, extending their playoff streak to 15 seasons – the longest active streak among the four North American major leagues, after the San Antonio Spurs of National Basketball Association missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. (including MLB, the NFL, and the NBA). On May 8, the team clinched the East Division title after defeating the Buffalo Sabres 1-0, for their first division championship since the 2013–14 season. The Penguins were then defeated in the First Round in six games by the New York Islanders. On April 20, 2021, the Penguins barreled through the first two periods en route to a 6-0 lead at the end of the second period. The Devils outscored them 6-1 in the third period, but the Penguins still won, 7-6. The Penguins became the first team in NHL history to be outscored by 5 goals in the third period of a game but still be on the winning end.

Standings

Divisional standings

East Division

Pos	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	RW	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	y – Pittsburgh Penguins	56	37	16	3	29	196	156	40	77
2	x – Washington Capitals	56	36	15	5	29	191	163	28	77
3	x – Boston Bruins	56	33	16	7	25	168	136	32	73
4	x – New York Islanders	56	32	17	7	24	156	128	28	71
5	e – New York Rangers	56	27	23	6	24	177	157	20	60
6	e – Philadelphia Flyers	56	25	23	8	17	163	201	−38	58
7	e – New Jersey Devils	56	19	30	7	15	145	194	−49	45
8	e – Buffalo Sabres	56	15	34	7	11	138	199	−61	37

Source: National Hockey League
Rules for classification: 1) Fewer number of games played (GP, only during regular season); 2) Greater number of regulation wins (RW); 3) Greater number of wins in regulation and overtime, excluding shootout wins (ROW); 4) Greater number of total wins, including shootouts (W); 5) Greater number of points earned in head-to-head play; if teams played an uneven number of head-to-head games, the result of the first game on the home ice of the team with the extra home game is discarded; 6) Greater goal differential (GD); 7) Greater number of goals scored (GF)
e – Eliminated from playoff contention; x – Clinched playoff spot; y – Clinched division

Schedule and results

Regular season

The regular season schedule was published on December 23, 2020.

2020–21 game log
January: 5–3–1 (Home: 4–0–0 ; Road: 1–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Points 1 January 13 Pittsburgh 3–6 Philadelphia Jarry 0 0–1–0 0 2 January 15 Pittsburgh 2–5 Philadelphia Jarry 0 0–2–0 0 3 January 17 Washington 3–4 SO Pittsburgh DeSmith 0 1–2–0 2 4 January 19 Washington 4–5 OT Pittsburgh DeSmith 0 2–2–0 4 5 January 22 NY Rangers 3–4 SO Pittsburgh Jarry 0 3–2–0 6 6 January 24 NY Rangers 2–3 Pittsburgh Jarry 0 4–2–0 8 7 January 26 Pittsburgh 2–3 OT Boston Jarry 0 4–2–1 9 8 January 28 Pittsburgh 1–4 Boston Jarry 0 4–3–1 9 9 January 30 Pittsburgh 5–4 OT NY Rangers DeSmith 0 5–3–1 11
February: 6–5–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Points 10 February 1 Pittsburgh 1–3 NY Rangers DeSmith 0 5–4–1 11 — February 2 New Jersey – Pittsburgh Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for March 21. — February 4 New Jersey – Pittsburgh Postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for April 20. 11 February 6 Pittsburgh 3–4 NY Islanders Jarry 0 5–5–1 11 12 February 11 Pittsburgh 4–3 SO NY Islanders DeSmith 0 6–5–1 13 13 February 14 Washington 3–6 Pittsburgh Jarry 0 7–5–1 15 14 February 16 Washington 3–1 Pittsburgh Jarry 0 7–6–1 15 15 February 18 NY Islanders 1–4 Pittsburgh Jarry 0 8–6–1 17 16 February 20 NY Islanders 2–3 Pittsburgh Jarry 0 9–6–1 19 17 February 23 Pittsburgh 3–2 OT Washington Jarry 0 10–6–1 21 18 February 25 Pittsburgh 2–5 Washington Jarry 0 10–7–1 21 19 February 27 Pittsburgh 4–3 OT NY Islanders Jarry 0 11–7–1 23 20 February 28 Pittsburgh 0–2 NY Islanders DeSmith 0 11–8–1 23
March: 12–3–1 (Home: 9–2–1 ; Road: 3–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Points 21 March 2 Philadelphia 2–5 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 12–8–1 25 22 March 4 Philadelphia 4–3 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 12–9–1 25 23 March 6 Philadelphia 3–4 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 13–9–1 27 24 March 7 NY Rangers 1–5 Pittsburgh DeSmith 2,800 14–9–1 29 25 March 9 NY Rangers 2–4 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 15–9–1 31 26 March 11 Pittsburgh 5–2 Buffalo Jarry 0 16–9–1 33 27 March 13 Pittsburgh 3–0 Buffalo DeSmith 0 17–9–1 35 28 March 15 Boston 1–4 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 18–9–1 37 29 March 16 Boston 2–1 Pittsburgh DeSmith 2,800 18–10–1 37 30 March 18 Pittsburgh 2–3 New Jersey Jarry 1,800 18–11–1 37 31 March 20 Pittsburgh 3–1 New Jersey DeSmith 1,800 19–11–1 39 32 March 21 New Jersey 2–1 OT Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 19–11–2 40 33 March 24 Buffalo 2–5 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 20–11–2 42 34 March 25 Buffalo 0–4 Pittsburgh DeSmith 2,800 21–11–2 44 35 March 27 NY Islanders 3–6 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 22–11–2 46 36 March 29 NY Islanders 1–2 Pittsburgh Jarry 2,800 23–11–2 48
April: 10–4–1 (Home: 5–1–1 ; Road: 5–3–0) # Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Points 37 April 1 Pittsburgh 4–1 Boston DeSmith 2,191 24–11–2 50 38 April 3 Pittsburgh 5–7 Boston DeSmith 2,191 24–12–2 50 39 April 6 Pittsburgh 4–8 NY Rangers DeSmith 1,693 24–13–2 50 40 April 8 Pittsburgh 5–2 NY Rangers Jarry 1,800 25–13–2 52 41 April 9 Pittsburgh 6–4 New Jersey DeSmith 3,600 26–13–2 54 42 April 11 Pittsburgh 5–2 New Jersey Jarry 3,600 27–13–2 56 43 April 15 Philadelphia 2–1 SO Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 27–13–3 57 44 April 17 Pittsburgh 3–2 Buffalo Jarry — 28–13–3 59 45 April 18 Pittsburgh 2–4 Buffalo DeSmith 0 28–14–3 59 46 April 20 New Jersey 6–7 Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 29–14–3 61 47 April 22 New Jersey 1–5 Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 30–14–3 63 48 April 24 New Jersey 2–4 Pittsburgh DeSmith 4,672 31–14–3 65 49 April 25 Boston 0–1 Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 32–14–3 67 50 April 27 Boston 3–1 Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 32–15–3 67 51 April 29 Pittsburgh 5–4 OT Washington Jarry 2,133 33–15–3 69
May: 4–1–0 (Home: 2–0–0 ; Road: 2–1–0) # Date Visitor Score Home Decision Attendance Record Points 52 May 1 Pittsburgh 3–0 Washington Jarry 2,133 34–15–3 71 53 May 3 Pittsburgh 2–7 Philadelphia DeSmith 2,542 34–16–3 71 54 May 4 Pittsburgh 7–3 Philadelphia Jarry 2,961 35–16–3 73 55 May 6 Buffalo 4–8 Pittsburgh Jarry 4,672 36–16–3 75 56 May 8 Buffalo 0–1 Pittsburgh Lagace 4,672 37–16–3 77
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss        = Postponement

Playoffs

Main article: 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs

2021 Stanley Cup playoffs
East Division First Round vs. (E4) New York Islanders: New York won 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 May 16 NY Islanders 4–3 Pittsburgh OT Jarry 4,672 0–1 Recap 2 May 18 NY Islanders 1–2 Pittsburgh Jarry 9,344 1–1 Recap 3 May 20 Pittsburgh 5–4 NY Islanders Jarry 6,800 2–1 Recap 4 May 22 Pittsburgh 1–4 NY Islanders Jarry 6,800 2–2 Recap 5 May 24 NY Islanders 3–2 Pittsburgh 2OT Jarry 9,344 2–3 Recap 6 May 26 Pittsburgh 3–5 NY Islanders Jarry 9,000 2–4 Recap
Legend:        = Win        = Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	/−	PIM
Sidney Crosby	55	24	38	62	8	26
Jake Guentzel	56	23	34	57	7	28
Kris Letang	55	7	38	45	19	32
Bryan Rust	56	22	20	42	9	18
Jared McCann	43	14	18	32	17	8
Kasperi Kapanen	40	11	19	30	15	7
Evgeni Malkin	33	8	20	28	-4	24
Teddy Blueger	43	7	15	22	10	16
Jason Zucker	38	9	9	18	-8	21
Cody Ceci	53	4	13	17	18	10
Brandon Tanev	32	7	9	16	12	22
Mike Matheson	44	5	11	16	9	28
Zach Aston-Reese	45	9	6	15	10	15
Evan Rodrigues	35	7	7	14	-3	6
Brian Dumoulin	41	4	10	14	18	12
John Marino	52	3	10	13	5	8
Jeff Carter†	14	9	2	11	9	0
Mark Jankowski	45	4	7	11	4	6
Colton Sceviour	46	5	5	10	0	2
Frederick Gaudreau	19	2	8	10	10	2
Marcus Pettersson	47	2	7	9	8	22
Sam Lafferty	34	0	6	6	-6	25
Pierre-Olivier Joseph	16	1	4	5	1	6
Anthony Angello	19	2	2	4	4	8
Radim Zohorna	8	2	2	4	4	4
Mark Friedman†	5	2	1	3	3	5
Chad Ruhwedel	17	0	2	2	3	14
Drew O'Connor	10	0	1	1	-2	2
Yannick Weber	2	0	0	0	-3	0
Josh Currie	1	0	0	0	0	0
Kevin Czuczman	2	0	0	0	-3	0
Juuso Riikola	2	0	0	0	0	0
Total		193	324	517	—	377

Playoffs

Player	GP	G	A	Pts	/−	PIM
Kris Letang	6	1	5	6	-2	6
Jeff Carter	6	4	1	5	0	4
Evgeni Malkin	4	1	4	5	-2	8
Jason Zucker	6	2	1	3	-1	2
Bryan Rust	6	2	1	3	-3	4
Frederick Gaudreau	6	1	2	3	3	2
Kasperi Kapanen	6	1	2	3	-3	0
Sidney Crosby	6	1	1	2	-2	2
Jake Guentzel	6	1	1	2	-6	6
Zach Aston-Reese	6	1	1	2	0	2
Brian Dumoulin	6	0	2	2	-1	2
Cody Ceci	6	0	2	2	-3	0
Brandon Tanev	6	1	0	1	-2	0
Jared McCann	6	0	1	1	1	2
Marcus Pettersson	6	0	1	1	-1	0
Evan Rodrigues	2	0	1	1	1	0
Mike Matheson	6	0	0	0	-2	0
Teddy Blueger	6	0	0	0	-2	2
John Marino	6	0	0	0	-1	6
Total		16	26	42	—	48

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tristan Jarry	39	38	2185:18	25	9	3	100	2.75	1100	0.909	2	0	4	8
Casey DeSmith	20	17	1132:19	11	7	0	48	2.54	543	0.912	2	0	1	0
Maxime Lagace	1	1	60:00	1	0	0	0	0	29	1.000	1	0	0	0
Total		56	3377:37	37	16	3	148	2.63	1672	0.911	5	0	5	8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	OT	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Tristan Jarry	6	6	396:07	2	4	0	21	3.18	187	0.888	0	0	0	0
Total		6	396:07	2	4	0	21	3.18	187	0.888	0	0	0	0

^†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

• Sidney Crosby became the first person to play 1,000 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He set the mark in a game against the New York Islanders on February 20.

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Date	Details
October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07)	To Ottawa Senators Matt Murray	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jonathan Gruden 2nd-round pick in 2020

Draft picks

See also: List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks

Below are the Pittsburgh Penguins' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was instead held on October 6–7, 2020, virtually via video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	52	Joel Blomqvist	G	Finland	Oulun Kärpät U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga)
3	77	Calle Clang	G	Sweden	Kristianstads IK (HockeyAllsvenskan)
4	108	Lukas Svejkovsky	C	United States	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
6	170	Chase Yoder	C	United States	U.S. NTDP (USHL)