# 2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 43rd season of the franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Penguins entered the season as defending Stanley Cup champions. It was scheduled to be the last season with the Penguins' home venue as Mellon Arena before they moved into their new arena, the Consol Energy Center, which was being constructed adjacent to the Mellon Arena across Centre Avenue.
The regular season began with a home game against the New York Rangers in which the Penguins held a banner-raising ceremony beforehand.
The Penguins qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They did not become champions of the Atlantic Division, but nonetheless finished in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 101 points. They began the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs on April 14 against the Ottawa Senators. They beat the Senators but they were upset in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals by the Montreal Canadiens, losing in seven games.

## Pre-season

2009 pre-season game log: 1–4–1 (home: 1–1–0; road: 0–3–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTDecisionAttendanceRecordRecap
1September 15Columbus Blue Jackets4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsOTFleury15,7661–0–0Recap
2September 18Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsJohnson16,6211–1–0Recap
3September 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–4Montreal CanadiensCurry21,2731–2–0Recap
4September 22Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Toronto Maple LeafsSOJohnson18,9101–2–1Recap
5September 24Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Columbus Blue JacketsFleury12,6381–3–1Recap
6September 27Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Detroit Red WingsFleury13,8911–4–1Recap :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :

## Regular season
### First half: October to December

The Penguins began the 2009–10 season on Friday, October 2. Prior to the game the team raised the Stanley Cup banner at Mellon Arena. The ceremonial banner raising was shown on a video board outside Mellon Arena, which displayed highlights from the previous season during the days leading up the game. The Penguins won their opening night game over the New York Rangers and defeated the New York Islanders the following night. After their first loss of the season to the Phoenix Coyotes, the Penguins embarked on a four-game road trip to complete a series of five games in eight days. The Penguins swept the four game road trip, setting a new franchise record for consecutive road wins to start a season. The Penguins extended their overall win-streak to seven games by winning the first three games of their ensuing homestand; the win-streak ended with a loss to the New Jersey Devils on October 24.
The Penguins began November with a three-game road trip in California. After defeating the Anaheim Ducks, the Penguins lost their first back-to-back games of the season to the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks. The team then lost to the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils. During the four-game losing streak, the Penguins were outscored 17–3. Against the Bruins, Sidney Crosby did not score a point for the fifth-consecutive game, the longest point-drought of his career. The Penguins ended their skid with a 6–5 overtime victory against Boston on November 14. Bill Guerin tied the game with .04 second left, and Pascal Dupuis scored in overtime.
Extended injuries hindered the team throughout much of the early season. On November 16, the Penguins played without four of the six defenceman that had started with the team. Additionally, they were without forwards Tyler Kennedy, Maxime Talbot and Chris Kunitz. Evgeni Malkin had also missed significant time. Later in the week, it was announced that defenceman Jay McKee would miss two to four weeks, but that Sergei Gonchar and Maxime Talbot, who had surgery during the off-season, would both likely return on November 19.
In late December through January 1, rosters for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were announced, and five Penguins were selected. Malkin and Gonchar were selected to play for Russia, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury for Canada and Brooks Orpik for the United States.
The Penguins concluded the first half of their season with their 41st game on December 30 against the New Jersey Devils. Through the first 41 games, the Penguins earned a 26–14–1 record. While the Penguins won five straight in the middle of the month, they ending losing three in a row, and four of their last five, including shutouts of 0–2 and 0–4 to the Devils. The 0–4 shutout earned Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur his 104th career shutout and the NHL record.

### Second half: January to April

The Penguins began the second half of their season with their 42nd game on January 2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Penguins went on to lose both of their first two games of the second half of the season with the second coming against the Florida Panthers. The Penguins then returned home for a two-game home stand in which they split by first defeating the Atlanta Thrashers and then losing in a high scoring 7–4 contest to the Philadelphia Flyers. After the home stand, the Penguins embarked on a five-game road trip of Canada and Minnesota, in which they finished the trip with a decent 3–2 record with wins coming against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. They battled with a struggling New Jersey Devils team for the Atlantic Division title, but ultimately fell short due in large part to having lost all six divisional games against the Devils. The Penguins had a 21–14–6 record in the second half of the season, placing them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference (despite having the third-best points total). It would be the third time in four years that the Penguins had over 100 points in a season (having missed out by a single point the previous year) and the fourth-straight year with 45 wins or more.

### Game log

2009–2010 Schedule :
October: 11–3–0 (Home: 5–3–0; Road: 6–1–0), 22 Points
#OctTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
127:30 PMNew York Rangers2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)1–0–02
237:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–3 SONew York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (16,234)2–0–04
377:30 PMPhoenix Coyotes3–0Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,975)2–1–04
487:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins5–4Philadelphia FlyersWells Fargo Center (19,611)3–1–06
5107:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins5–2Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (19,374)4–1–08
6127:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–1Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (17,014)5–1–010
7147:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2 SOCarolina HurricanesRBC Center (14,053)6–1–012
8177:30 PMTampa Bay Lightning1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)7–1–014
9207:00 PMSt. Louis Blues1–5Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)8–1–016
10237:30 PMFlorida Panthers2–3 SOPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,971)9–1–018
11247:30 PMNew Jersey Devils4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)9–2–018
12287:30 PMMontreal Canadiens1–6Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,965)10–2–020
13307:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–3 SOColumbus Blue JacketsNationwide Arena (19,136)11–2–022
14317:30 PMMinnesota Wild2–1Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,960)11–3–022 :
November: 8–6–0 (Home: 4–1–0; Road: 4–5–0), 16 Points
#NovTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
15310:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–3Anaheim DucksHonda Center (16,128)12–3–024
16510:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–5Los Angeles KingsStaples Center (18,118)12–4–024
17710:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins0–5San Jose SharksHP Pavilion at San Jose (17,562)12–5–024
18107:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins0–3Boston BruinsTD Garden (17,565)12–6–024
19127:30 PMNew Jersey Devils4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,005)12–7–024
20147:30 PMBoston Bruins5–6 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)13–7–026
21167:30 PMAnaheim Ducks2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,052)14–7–028
22197:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–6Ottawa SenatorsScotiabank Place (17,039)14–8–028
23217:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2Atlanta ThrashersPhilips Arena (17,588)15–8–030
24237:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2 OTFlorida PanthersBankAtlantic Center (17,024)16–8–032
25257:30 PMMontreal Canadiens1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,094)17–8–034
26272:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–3New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (15,262)17–9–034
27287:30 PMNew York Rangers3–8Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,122)18–9–036
28307:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins5–2New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18,200)19–9–038 :
December: 7–5–1 (Home: 4–3–1; Road: 3–2–0), 15 Points
#DecTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
2937:30 PMColorado Avalanche1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,968)20–9–040
3057:30 PMChicago Blackhawks2–1 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)20–9–141
3177:30 PMCarolina Hurricanes3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,964)20–10–141
32107:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)21–10–143
33127:30 PMFlorida Panthers2–3 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,977)22–10–145
34157:00 PMPhiladelphia Flyers1–6Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,086)23–10–147
35177:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2 SOPhiladelphia FlyersWachovia Center (19,689)24–10–149
36197:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–1 SOBuffalo SabresHSBC Arena (18,690)25–10–151
37217:30 PMNew Jersey Devils4–0Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)25–11–151
38237:00 PMOttawa Senators2–8Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)26–11–153
39277:00 PMToronto Maple Leafs4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)26–12–153
40297:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–4Buffalo SabresHSBC Arena (18,690)26–13–153
41307:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins0–2New Jersey DevilsPrudential Center (17,625)26–14–153 :
January: 8–7–0 (Home: 3–3–0; Road: 5–4–0), 16 Points
#JanTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
4223:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins1–3Tampa Bay LightningSt. Pete Times Forum (20,109)26–15–153
4335:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–6Florida PanthersBankAtlantic Center (18,110)26–16–153
4457:30 PMAtlanta Thrashers2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,049)27–16–155
4577:30 PMPhiladelphia Flyers7–4Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,095)27–17–155
4697:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–1Toronto Maple LeafsAir Canada Centre (19,567)28–17–157
47118:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–4Minnesota WildXcel Energy Center (19,044)28–18–157
48139:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–1Calgary FlamesPengrowth Saddledome (19,289)29–18–159
49149:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–2Edmonton OilersRexall Place (16,839)30–18–161
501610:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–6Vancouver CanucksRogers Arena (18,810)30–19–161
51197:30 PMNew York Islanders4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,981)31–19–163
52217:30 PMWashington Capitals6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)31–20–163
532412:30 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–1Philadelphia FlyersWachovia Center (19,798)32–20–165
54257:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–2New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18,200)33–20–167
55287:00 PMOttawa Senators4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,084)33–21–167
563112:30 PMDetroit Red Wings1–2 SOPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,105)34–21–169 :
February: 2–1–3 (Home: 2–0–2; Road: 0–1–1), 7 Points
#FebTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
5717:00 PMBuffalo Sabres4–5Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,029)35–21–171
5862:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–5Montreal CanadiensBell Centre (21,273)35–22–171
59712:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins4–5 OTWashington CapitalsVerizon Center (18,277)35–22–272
60107:30 PMNew York Islanders1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (16,980)36–22–274
61127:30 PMNew York Rangers3–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)36–22–375
62141:00 PMNashville Predators4–3 SOPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)36–22–476 :
March: 8–4–2 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 3–3–2), 18 Points
#MarTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
6327:30 PMBuffalo Sabres2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)37–22–478
6447:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins5–4 OTNew York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV) (18,200)38–22–480
6561:00 PMDallas Stars3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)39–22–482
6673:00 PMBoston Bruins1–2Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)40–22–484
67117:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–4 OTCarolina HurricanesRBC Center (16,426)40–22–585
68127:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins1–3New Jersey DevilsPrudential Center (17,625)40–23–585
69145:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–1Tampa Bay LightningSt. Pete Times Forum (20,230)41–23–587
70177:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins2–5New Jersey DevilsPrudential Center (17,625)41–24–587
71187:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–0Boston BruinsTD Garden (17,565)42–24–589
72201:00 PMCarolina Hurricanes3–2 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,090)42–24–690
73227:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins1–3Detroit Red WingsJoe Louis Arena (20,066)42–25–690
74247:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins3–4 SOWashington CapitalsVerizon Center (18,277)42–25–791
75271:00 PMPhiladelphia Flyers1–4Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)43–25–793
76285:00 PMToronto Maple Leafs4–5 SOPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,104)44–25–795
77317:30 PMTampa Bay Lightning2–0Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)44–26–795 :
April: 3–2–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–1–0), 6 Points
#AprTime (ET)VisitorScoreHomeLocation/AttendanceRecordPoints
7831:00 PMAtlanta Thrashers3–4 OTPittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,047)45–26–797
7967:30 PMWashington Capitals6–3Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)45–27–797
8087:30 PMNew York Islanders3–7Pittsburgh PenguinsMellon Arena (17,132)46–27–799
81107:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins0–1Atlanta ThrashersPhilips Arena (18,959)46–28–799
82115:00 PMPittsburgh Penguins6–5 OTNew York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (16,250)47–28–7101 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss :

### Standings
#### Atlantic Division

Atlantic Division :
| | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | New Jersey Devils | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |

#### Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 54 | 15 | 13 | 318 | 233 | 121 |
| 2 | y – New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 48 | 27 | 7 | 222 | 191 | 103 |
| 3 | y – Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 235 | 207 | 100 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 257 | 237 | 101 |
| 5 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 44 | 32 | 6 | 225 | 238 | 94 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 206 | 200 | 91 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 41 | 35 | 6 | 236 | 225 | 88 |
| 8 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 39 | 33 | 10 | 217 | 223 | 88 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 222 | 218 | 87 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 234 | 256 | 83 |
| 11 | Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 230 | 256 | 80 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 34 | 36 | 12 | 217 | 260 | 80 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 222 | 264 | 79 |
| 14 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 208 | 244 | 77 |
| 15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 30 | 38 | 14 | 214 | 267 | 74 |
bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

### Detailed records

Final
Eastern Conference :
| Atlantic | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| New Jersey Devils | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 187–165 | 5 | 22 | 0–21 | 3–17 | 155–144 |
| New York Islanders | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 192–211 | 28 | 19 | 7–28 | 5–30 | 228–169 |
| New York Rangers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 207–168 | 27 | 16 | 7–21 | 3–20 | 176–167 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 182–180 | 24 | 16 | 7–28 | 7–31 | 179–190 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | | | | | | | | | | |
| Division Total | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 768–724 | 84 | 73 | 21–98 | 18–98 | 738–670 |
| Northeast | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| Boston Bruins | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 124–101 | 11 | 9 | 0–10 | 2–13 | 95–127 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 121–118 | 13 | 11 | 2–11 | 3–21 | 107–103 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 129–96 | 15 | 9 | 2–15 | 3–13 | 97–123 |
| Ottawa Senators | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 122–137 | 15 | 13 | 4–20 | 1–17 | 122–120 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 141–119 | 17 | 11 | 5–13 | 3–15 | 130–107 |
| Division Total | 20 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 637–571 | 71 | 53 | 13–69 | 12–79 | 551–580 |
| Southeast | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 139–112 | 12 | 8 | 4–17 | 1–15 | 104–138 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 135–100 | 10 | 12 | 2–12 | 2–17 | 100–114 |
| Florida Panthers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 176–116 | 11 | 12 | 3–20 | 2–13 | 131–118 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 125–99 | 7 | 7 | 2–20 | 2–18 | 105–106 |
| Washington Capitals | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 144–128 | 13 | 21 | 3–19 | 4–8 | 121–127 |
| Division Total | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 719–555 | 53 | 60 | 14–88 | 11–71 | 561–603 |
| Conference Total | 64 | 38 | 21 | 5 | 2124–1850 | 208 | 186 | 48–255 | 41–248 | 1850–1853 |
Western Conference :
| Central | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33–31 | 1 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 30–44 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32–32 | 4 | 3 | 0–5 | 1–7 | 29–34 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 74–57 | 3 | 4 | 0–4 | 0–9 | 46–73 |
| Nashville Predators | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33–26 | 3 | 4 | 1–4 | 1–7 | 33–24 |
| St. Louis Blues | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43–23 | 5 | 1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 21–30 |
| Division Total | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 215–169 | 16 | 14 | 3–18 | 2–28 | 159–205 |
| Northwest | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| Calgary Flames | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27–38 | 3 | 1 | 1–5 | 1–5 | 27–30 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 33–16 | 4 | 1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 30–29 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31–35 | 3 | 2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 25–36 |
| Minnesota Wild | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 73–39 | 4 | 6 | 0–9 | 0–4 | 54–58 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24–27 | 2 | 6 | 0–3 | 1–6 | 25–29 |
| Division Total | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 188–155 | 16 | 16 | 3–23 | 5–22 | 161–182 |
| Pacific | GP | W | L | OT | SHOTS | GF | GA | PP | PK | FO W–L |
| Anaheim Ducks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 53–54 | 9 | 5 | 1–13 | 0–5 | 55–47 |
| Dallas Stars | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34–30 | 6 | 3 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 38–35 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23–32 | 2 | 5 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 23–35 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24–25 | 0 | 3 | 0–5 | 2–9 | 26–27 |
| San Jose Sharks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27–35 | 0 | 5 | 0–4 | 2–6 | 30–28 |
| Division Total | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 161–176 | 17 | 21 | 2–30 | 4–29 | 172–172 |
| Conference Total | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 564–500 | 49 | 51 | 8–71 | 11–79 | 492–559 |
| NHL Total | 82 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 2688–2350 | 257 | 237 | 56–326 | 52–327 | 2342–2412 |

## Stanley Cup playoffs

The Penguins advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the opening round match-up with the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins defeated the Senators 4–2 and advanced to face the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens.

### Eastern Conference Quarter-finals

The Penguins lost Game 1 of the series 5–4. The Penguins took an early 1–0 lead when Evgeni Malkin scored at 3:03 into the first period on the power play, but finished the first period trailing the Senators 2–1 after Peter Regin and Chris Neil both scored on rebounds. The Senators extended their lead to 3–1 early in the second period on the power play when Marc-Andre Fleury was caught out of the net on an odd bounce off of the end board in which Chris Kelly put into the open net. Malkin managed to decrease the deficit to 3–2 with his second power play goal of the night near the midway point of the second period. The Senators' lead was then re-extended the lead 3 minutes later when Erik Karlsson scored on the power play. Five minutes into the third period, Craig Adams scored on a backhand shot to decrease the Senators' lead back to one goal, but almost five minutes later, ex-Penguin Jarkko Ruutu scored what would be the game-winning goal. Alex Goligoski scored to make the score 5–4 with about a minute and a half off of a no-look feed from Sidney Crosby behind the net.
Looking to tie the series at 1–1 in Game 2, things did not get off on the right foot, with the Senators' Peter Regin scoring 18 seconds into the game to take an early 1–0 lead. Sidney Crosby leveled the game 8 minutes later, knocking in a rebound off of a Chris Kunitz shot. After a scoreless second period, Kris Letang scored the game-winner at 16:48 in the third period on a slap shot with the assist from Crosby, who passed to Letang after falling to his knees. The Penguins were able to fend off the Senators for the remainder of the game and leveled the series at 1–1.
The series then turned to Scotiabank Place, the home of the Senators, for Game 3. The Penguins started the scoring 1:17 into the first when Alexei Ponikarovsky beat Senators goalie Brian Elliott to give the Penguins a 1–0 lead. Peter Regin then scored late in the first period, but the goal was eventually disallowed due to the fact that the puck was scored by a clear kicking motion. Early in the second period, Mike Fisher scored on a power play to knot things up at 1–1. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both went on to score goals in the second, with Crosby's coming on a power play to give the Penguins a 3–1 advantage after 2 periods. Bill Guerin extended the lead to 4–1 when he slotted home a shot on a breakaway. The Senators put on the pressure late and managed to put another behind Marc-Andre Fleury, where Matt Cullen, on the power play, lifted a shot over Fleury's glove from a wide angle. The Senators pulled their goalie on a late power play to extend their man advantage to two, but failed to convert any shots to goals. The final score was 4–2 to give the Penguins a 2–1 series lead.
Two days later, the two clubs met again in Ottawa for Game 4. The first goal of the game came 11:50 into the first period when Evgeni Malkin scored on a power play slap shot to take a 1–0 lead into the first intermission. In the second period, Ottawa turned the puck over near their blue line and Sergei Gonchar fed Chris Kunitz who then tapped the puck into the offensive zone where Sidney Crosby uncovered gathered the puck and slotted it home past Elliott to take a 2–0 lead. 12 seconds later, Maxime Talbot fed Matt Cooke from the corner boards to the front of the goal to increase the scoreline to 3–0. Things got ugly for Ottawa 13 seconds later, when Crosby came into the offensive zone virtually untouched and put a wrist shot top far corner to extend the lead to 4. Senators goaltender Brian Elliott was then pulled and replaced by Pascal Leclaire. After the change, Ottawa managed to score two goals from Chris Neil and Daniel Alfredsson to decrease the Penguin lead to 4–2. The goal scoring then continued in the period when Maxime Talbot scored a short handed goal. Matt Cullen for Ottawa then scored on a 5-on-3 power play and finally Chris Kunitz scored for Pittsburgh with around two minutes left in the period to go into the intermission with a 6–3 lead. In the final period, the Senators scored on another 5-on-3 power play, with Jordan Staal scoring the last goal of the game on a backhand shot to end any hopes of a Senators comeback. The final score was 7–4 and Pittsburgh took a 3–1 series lead back to Pittsburgh.
In game five the Penguins looked to wrap up the series on home ice. In the first period, the Senators took an early 2–0 lead with Mike Fisher scoring at 10:25 on a power play and Jarkko Ruutu put another one past Marc-Andre Fleury a little over a minute later. Kris Letang scored on a slap shot during a power play at 18:05 in the period to decrease the Senators lead to 2–1 going into the first intermission. In the second period, neither sides could manage to score until Chris Kunitz put a wrist shot past Pascal Leclaire to knot things up a 2–2 with about a minute and a half left in the second period. In the third period, Sidney Crosby scored at 9:01 on a beautiful wrist shot goal sitting on his backside in front of goal that looked like it could be the series clincher. The Senators quickly responded though at 10:24 when Peter Regin put a slap shot past Fleury to tie the game back up at 3–3. The game then went into overtime and a winner wasn't found until 7:06 into the third overtime when Matt Carkner's slap shot hit Fleury and trickled past the goal line to give the Senators a 4–3 win and decrease the Penguins advantage in the series to 3–2.

### Eastern Conference Semi-finals

In the second round of the playoffs, the Penguins faced the Montreal Canadiens. Games 1 & 2 began in Pittsburgh. In game 1, the Penguins won 6–3. However, in game 2, Montreal stormed back victorious by a score of 3–1. Games 3 & 4 shifted to Montreal. Game 3 was in the Penguins' favor 2–0. The 2–1 series lead for the Penguins would be short lived as Montreal won game 4 3–2. Game 5 went back to Pittsburgh where the Penguins won 2–1. Unfortunately, in game 6, Montreal would win at home 4–3. Back in Pittsburgh, Montreal won game 7 5-2 and won the series 4–3.

### Playoff log

2010 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs No. 5 Ottawa Senators: 4–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTPIT goalsOTT goalsDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 14Ottawa5–4PittsburghMalkin, Malkin, Adams, GoligoskiRegin, Neil, Kelly, Karlsson, RuutuFleury (0–1)17,1320–1
2April 16Ottawa1–2PittsburghCrosby, LetangReginFleury (1–1)17,1321–1
3April 18Pittsburgh4–2OttawaPonikarovsky, Malkin, Crosby, GuerinFisher, CullenFleury (2–1)20,1192–1
4April 20Pittsburgh7–4OttawaMalkin, Crosby, Cooke, Crosby, Talbot, Kunitz, StaalNeil, Alfredsson, Cullen, SpezzaFleury (3–1)20,0143–1
5April 22Ottawa4–3Pittsburgh3OTLetang, Kunitz, CrosbyFisher, Ruutu, Regin, Carkner (3OT)Fleury (3–2)17,1323–2
6April 24Pittsburgh4–3OttawaOTCooke, Guerin, Cooke, Dupuis (OT)Cullen, Neil, AlfredssonFleury (4–2)20,1224–2 :
Eastern Conference semifinals vs No. 8 Montreal Canadiens: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeOTPIT goalsMON goalsDecisionAttendanceSeriesRecap
1April 30Montreal3–6PittsburghGonchar, Staal, Letang, Adams, Goligoski, GuerinSubban, Cammalleri, GiontaFleury (5–2)17,1321–0
2May 2Montreal3–1PittsburghCookeGionta, Cammalleri, CammalleriFleury (5–3)17,1321–1
3May 4Pittsburgh2–0MontrealMalkin, DupuisFleury (6–3)21,2732–1
4May 6Pittsburgh2–3MontrealTalbot, KunitzPyatt, Lapierre, GiontaFleury (6–4)21,2732–2
5May 8Montreal1–2PittsburghLetang, GoncharCammalleriFleury (7–4)17,1323–2
6May 10Pittsburgh3–4MontrealCrosby, Letang, GuerinCammalleri, Cammalleri, Spacek, LapierreFleury (7–5)21,2733–3
7May 12Montreal5–2PittsburghKunitz, StaalGionta, Moore, Cammalleri, Moen, GiontaFleury (7–6)17,1323–4 :
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = OT/SO Loss        = Playoff series win :
* Scorer of game-winning goal in italics.

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Sidney Crosby | 81 | 51 | 58 | 109 | 15 | 71 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 67 | 28 | 49 | 77 | -6 | 100 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 62 | 11 | 39 | 50 | -4 | 49 |
| Jordan Staal | 82 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 19 | 57 |
| Bill Guerin | 78 | 21 | 24 | 45 | -9 | 75 |
| Pascal Dupuis | 81 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 5 | 16 |
| Alex Goligoski | 69 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 7 | 22 |
| Chris Kunitz | 50 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 3 | 39 |
| Matt Cooke | 79 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 17 | 106 |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | 80 | 11 | 19 | 30 | -17 | 50 |
| Kris Letang | 73 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 1 | 51 |
| Tyler Kennedy | 64 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 10 | 31 |
| Brooks Orpik | 73 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 6 | 64 |
| Mike Rupp | 81 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 120 |
| Mark Eaton | 79 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 26 |
| Jay McKee | 62 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 54 |
| Craig Adams | 82 | 0 | 10 | 10 | -5 | 72 |
| Alexei Ponikarovsky$^†$ | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -6 | 17 |
| Jordan Leopold$^†$ | 20 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Martin Skoula$^‡$ | 33 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -4 | 6 |
| Max Talbot | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | -9 | 30 |
| Chris Conner | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| Eric Godard | 45 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 76 |
| Chris Bourque$^‡$ | 20 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -4 | 10 |
| Ben Lovejoy | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Nick Johnson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| Luca Caputi$^‡$ | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 2 |
| Deryk Engelland | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 17 |
| Mark Letestu | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 2 |
| Nate Guenin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 |
| Tim Wallace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Tangradi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dustin Jeffrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 249 | 431 | 680 | — | 1,173 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Sidney Crosby | 13 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 6 | 6 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 13 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 4 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 13 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 6 |
| Chris Kunitz | 13 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 8 |
| Bill Guerin | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
| Alex Goligoski | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| Pascal Dupuis | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 |
| Kris Letang | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 6 |
| Matt Cooke | 13 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 22 |
| Max Talbot | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| Jordan Staal | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -4 | 6 |
| Alexei Ponikarovsky | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Craig Adams | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| Mark Eaton | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -4 | 4 |
| Brooks Orpik | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Mark Letestu | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay McKee | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Rupp | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Jordan Leopold | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 |
| Ruslan Fedotenko | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 4 |
| Tyler Kennedy | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 2 |
| Chris Conner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 42 | 75 | 117 | — | 130 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | 67 | 66 | 3798:17 | 37 | 21 | 6 | 168 | 2.65 | 1772 | 0.905 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Brent Johnson | 23 | 15 | 1108:08 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 51 | 2.76 | 541 | 0.906 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alexander Pechurskiy | 1 | 0 | 35:31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.69 | 13 | 0.923 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Curry | 1 | 1 | 24:29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12.25 | 14 | 0.643 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 82 | 4966:25 | 47 | 28 | 7 | 225 | 2.72 | 2340 | 0.904 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | 13 | 13 | 798:12 | 7 | 6 | -- | 37 | 2.78 | 339 | 0.891 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brent Johnson | 1 | 0 | 31:29 | 0 | 0 | -- | 1 | 1.91 | 7 | 0.857 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 13 | 829:41 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 2.75 | 346 | 0.890 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
$^†$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.

## Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season.

### Trades

| February 11, 2010 | To St. Louis Blues Nate Guenin | To Pittsburgh Penguins Steve Wagner |
| March 1, 2010 | To Florida Panthers 2nd-round pick in 2010 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Jordan Leopold |
| March 2, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Luca Caputi Martin Skoula | To Pittsburgh Penguins Alexei Ponikarovsky |
| March 3, 2010 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Chris Peluso | To Pittsburgh Penguins 6th-round pick in 2010 |
| May 28, 2010 | To Anaheim Ducks 6th-round pick in 2010 | To Pittsburgh Penguins Mattias Modig |

## Notable achievements
### Awards

Regular Season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Sidney Crosby | NHL First Star of the Week | November 30, 2009 |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | NHL Second Star of the Week | December 21, 2009 |
| Sidney Crosby | NHL Third Star of the Week | January 25, 2010 |
| Sidney Crosby | Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (co-winner with Steven Stamkos) | April 11, 2010 |
| Sidney Crosby | NHL First Star of the Week | April 12, 2010 |
| Sidney Crosby | Mark Messier Leadership Award | June 23, 2010 |

### Team awards

| Player | Award | Notes |
| Sidney Crosby Marc-Andre Fleury | Baz Bastien Memorial Award | Presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association to the player who the local media of the PHWA want to acknowledge for his cooperation throughout the year. The award is presented in memory of the late Aldege "Baz" Bastien, Penguins general manager from 1976 to 1983. Sponsor: UPMC Sports Medicine |
| Bill Guerin | Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee | The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association votes for the Penguins' Masterton nominee. Each NHL team selects a Masterton candidate from which the overall winner is chosen. The Masterton candidate is nominated as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Sponsor: Trib Total Media |
| Sidney Crosby | A. T. Caggiano Memorial Booster Club Cup | Presented in memory of A.T. Caggiano, long-time Penguins' locker room attendant & Booster Club supporter, the award is presented by Penguins Booster Club members, who vote for the three stars after every home game and tally votes at the end of the regular season. |
| Jordan Staal | Player's Player Award | The players hold a vote at the end of the season for the player they feel exemplifies leadership for the team, both on and off the ice, a player dedicated to teamwork. Sponsor: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield |
| Sidney Crosby | Edward J. DeBartolo Award | The award recognizes the player who has donated a tremendous amount of time and effort during the season working on community and charity projects. Sponsor: Verizon Wireless |
| Brooks Orpik | Defensive Player of the Year | This award honors the defensive skills of an individual player on the team. Sponsor: PNC Wealth Management |
| Sidney Crosby | Most Valuable Player | Based on the overall contribution the player makes to the team. Sponsor: CONSOL Energy |

### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |
| Sidney Crosby | 400th NHL Point | October 3, 2009 |
| Matt Cooke | 100th NHL Goal | October 10, 2009 |
| Deryk Engelland | 1st NHL Game | November 10, 2009 |
| Pascal Dupuis | 100th NHL Goal | November 14, 2009 |
| Mark Letestu | 1st NHL Game | November 14, 2009 |
| Jay McKee | 100th NHL Assist | December 15, 2009 |
| Alexander Pechurskiy | 1st NHL game | January 16, 2010 |
| Nick Johnson | 1st NHL Game 1st NHL Goal | January 21, 2010 |
| Mark Letestu | 1st NHL Goal | February 1, 2010 |
| Sidney Crosby | 300th NHL Assist | February 6, 2010 |
| Sergei Gonchar | 200th NHL Goal | March 2, 2010 |
| Chris Kunitz | 100th NHL Goal | March 22, 2010 |
| Sidney Crosby | 500th NHL Point | April 8, 2010 |
| Eric Tangradi | 1st NHL Game | April 11, 2010 |

## Draft picks

The 2009 NHL Entry Draft was the 47th NHL Entry Draft. It was held June 26–27 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, the first NHL draft to be held in Montreal since 1992. At the Entry Draft, the Penguins made two trades to increase their number of overall picks, as several of their picks had been traded previously. With their first-round pick, the Penguins chose Simon Despres, 30th overall.
| Round | Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (league) |
| 1 | 030 | Simon Despres | D | Canada | Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 061 | Philip Samuelsson | D | Canada | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 3 | 063 | Ben Hanowski | RW | United States | Little Falls High School (USHS-MN) |
| 4 | 121 | Nick Petersen | RW | Canada | Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) |
| 5 | 123 | Alex Velischek | D | Canada | Delbarton School (USHS-NJ) |
| 5 | 151 | Andy Bathgate | C | Canada | Belleville Bulls (OHL) |
| 6 | 181 | Viktor Ekbom | D | Sweden | IK Oskarshamn (HockeyAllsvenskan) |

### Notes on draft picks

* $^a$ The Tampa Bay Lightning's third-round pick went to the Penguins as the result of a trade on June 28, 2008, that sent Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Ryan Malone is signed by Tampa Bay prior to the 2008–09 season – was converted on June 29, 2008.
* $^b$ The Tampa Bay Lightning's fifth-round pick went to the Penguins as the result of a trade on October 1, 2008, that sent Michal Sersen to Tampa Bay for this pick.
* $^c$ The Penguins' fifth-round pick (151st overall) was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 26, 2008, along with a second-round pick in 2008 in exchange for Hal Gill. The New York Rangers then acquired the pick from the Maple Leafs in July 2008, then the Penguins re-claimed their pick in a June 2009 trade that sent Chad Johnson to the Rangers.
* The Penguins' third-round pick was traded to the New York Islanders as a result of the conditional trade in which the Penguins acquired Bill Guerin on March 4, 2009. The trade sent the New York Islanders a conditional 2009 draft pick that became the third-round pick, because the Penguins advanced beyond the first round in the 2009 playoffs.