# 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins season was their 12th in the National Hockey League. They finished second in the Norris Division, qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1977. Their regular season was a marked improvement over the previous season, from 68 to 85 points.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 52 | 17 | 11 | 337 | 204 | 115 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 36 | 31 | 13 | 281 | 279 | 85 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 34 | 34 | 12 | 292 | 286 | 80 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 24 | 41 | 15 | 273 | 338 | 63 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 23 | 41 | 16 | 252 | 295 | 62 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—1–5–22–4–23–53–2–39–16–7
Los Angeles
5–1–2—3–3–23–4–13–4–114–12–6
Montreal
4–2–23–3–2—5–2–17–0–119–7–6
Pittsburgh
5–34–3–12–5–1—4–3–115–14–3
Washington
2–3–34–3–10–7–13–4–1—9–17–6
Vs. Adams Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Detroit
1–31–31–2–12–25–10–1
Los Angeles
3–11–2–13–10–47–8–1
Montreal
2–0–24–03–13–0–112–1–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–12–0–23–11–38–5–3
Washington
0–3–10–3–12–21–1–23–9–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
0–3–10–3–11–1–20–2–21–9–6
Los Angeles
2–20–2–21–30–43–11–2
Montreal
3–11–31–33–0–18–7–1
Pittsburgh
0–3–10–1–32–21–33–9–4
Washington
1–2–11–31–1–20–3–13–9–4
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
3–0–13–0–11–31–38–6–2
Los Angeles
3–12–0–22–1–13–110–3–3
Montreal
2–24–04–03–0–113–2–1
Pittsburgh
2–0–23–12–1–13–110–3–3
Washington
1–2–13–12–23–19–6–1 :

## Schedule and results

1978–79 Schedule :
October: 1–6–2 (home: 1–3–2; road: 0–3–0), 4 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
1Oct 11Toronto Maple Leafs3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena0–1–00
2Oct 12Pittsburgh Penguins2–8Boston BruinsBoston Garden0–2–00
3Oct 14Boston Bruins4–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena0–2–11
4Oct 18New York Islanders5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena0–3–11
5Oct 19Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum0–4–11
6Oct 21Washington Capitals1–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–4–13
7Oct 25St. Louis Blues6–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–4–24
8Oct 28Atlanta Flames4–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena1–5–24
9Oct 29Pittsburgh Penguins2–3New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)1–6–24 :
November: 5–7–1 (home: 3–3–0; road: 2–4–1), 11 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
10Nov 1Pittsburgh Penguins4–6Washington CapitalsCapital Centre1–7–24
11Nov 3Pittsburgh Penguins0–2Atlanta FlamesOmni Coliseum1–8–24
12Nov 4Detroit Red Wings3–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena2–8–26
13Nov 8Colorado Rockies3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–8–28
14Nov 9Pittsburgh Penguins4–4Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium3–8–39
15Nov 11New York Rangers2–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena3–9–39
16Nov 16Pittsburgh Penguins6–3Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum4–9–311
17Nov 18Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Los Angeles KingsThe Forum5–9–313
18Nov 22Montreal Canadiens3–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–10–313
19Nov 23Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum5–11–313
20Nov 25Philadelphia Flyers3–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena5–12–313
21Nov 26Pittsburgh Penguins2–8Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens5–13–313
22Nov 29Washington Capitals3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena6–13–315 :
December: 9–2–4 (home: 6–0–1; road: 3–2–3), 22 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
23Dec 1Pittsburgh Penguins7–4Washington CapitalsCapital Centre7–13–317
24Dec 2Chicago Black Hawks2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena8–13–319
25Dec 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–3New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum8–13–420
26Dec 6Toronto Maple Leafs4–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–13–422
27Dec 8Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum9–13–523
28Dec 9Buffalo Sabres4–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena9–13–624
29Dec 13St. Louis Blues0–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena10–13–626
30Dec 14Pittsburgh Penguins1–2Philadelphia FlyersThe Spectrum10–14–626
31Dec 16Vancouver Canucks5–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena11–14–628
32Dec 17Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium11–14–729
33Dec 21Pittsburgh Penguins4–1Los Angeles KingsThe Forum12–14–731
34Dec 23Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Minnesota North StarsMet Center12–15–731
35Dec 27Los Angeles Kings2–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena13–15–733
36Dec 30Detroit Red Wings1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena14–15–735
37Dec 31Pittsburgh Penguins5–4Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium15–15–737 :
January: 5–7–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 1–3–1), 11 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
38Jan 3Vancouver Canucks5–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–16–737
39Jan 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Atlanta FlamesOmni Coliseum15–16–838
40Jan 6Los Angeles Kings4–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena15–17–838
41Jan 10Montreal Canadiens2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena16–17–840
42Jan 13Boston Bruins3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena17–17–842
43Jan 14Pittsburgh Penguins5–4Buffalo SabresBuffalo Memorial Auditorium18–17–844
44Jan 16Minnesota North Stars0–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–17–846
45Jan 17Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium19–18–846
46Jan 20Washington Capitals5–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena19–19–846
47Jan 24Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Los Angeles KingsThe Forum19–20–846
48Jan 25Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Colorado RockiesMcNichols Sports Arena19–21–846
49Jan 27Los Angeles Kings3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–21–848
50Jan 31Montreal Canadiens4–1Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena20–22–848 :
February: 6–3–1 (home: 6–0–0; road: 0–3–1), 13 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
51Feb 3Detroit Red Wings2–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena21–22–850
52Feb 4Pittsburgh Penguins3–8Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium21–23–850
53Feb 15Minnesota North Stars5–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena22–23–852
54Feb 17Buffalo Sabres3–6Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena23–23–854
55Feb 18Pittsburgh Penguins2–6Detroit Red WingsOlympia Stadium23–24–854
56Feb 21Montreal Canadiens1–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena24–24–856
57Feb 22Pittsburgh Penguins0–12Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum24–25–856
58Feb 24Chicago Black Hawks1–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena25–25–858
59Feb 25Pittsburgh Penguins2–2Chicago Black HawksChicago Stadium25–25–959
60Feb 28Colorado Rockies3–5Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena26–25–961 :
March: 8–4–4 (home: 2–1–2; road: 6–3–2), 20 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
61Mar 3Pittsburgh Penguins4–8St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome26–26–961
62Mar 4Pittsburgh Penguins7–2Colorado RockiesMcNichols Sports Arena27–26–963
63Mar 7Los Angeles Kings4–0Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena27–27–963
64Mar 10Philadelphia Flyers2–3Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena28–27–965
65Mar 11Pittsburgh Penguins0–4Toronto Maple LeafsMaple Leaf Gardens28–28–965
66Mar 13Pittsburgh Penguins9–3Vancouver CanucksPacific Coliseum29–28–967
67Mar 14Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Los Angeles KingsThe Forum29–28–1068
68Mar 17Pittsburgh Penguins5–2Washington CapitalsCapital Centre30–28–1070
69Mar 18Pittsburgh Penguins5–1New York RangersMadison Square Garden (IV)31–28–1072
70Mar 21Washington Capitals2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena31–28–1173
71Mar 22Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Boston BruinsBoston Garden32–28–1175
72Mar 24Pittsburgh Penguins3–3New York IslandersNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum32–28–1276
73Mar 25New York Islanders2–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena32–28–1377
74Mar 27Pittsburgh Penguins5–1Minnesota North StarsMet Center33–28–1379
75Mar 28New York Rangers1–7Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena34–28–1381
76Mar 31Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Montreal CanadiensMontreal Forum34–29–1381 :
April: 2–2–0 (home: 1–1–0; road: 1–1–0), 4 Points
#DateVisitorScoreHomeLocationRecordPoints
77Apr 1Atlanta Flames7–2Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena34–30–1381
78Apr 3Pittsburgh Penguins3–2St. Louis BluesThe Checkerdome35–30–1383
79Apr 7Detroit Red Wings3–4Pittsburgh PenguinsCivic Arena36–30–1385
80Apr 8Pittsburgh Penguins2–5Washington CapitalsCapital Centre36–31–1385 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Playoffs
### Preliminary round vs. Buffalo

* Pittsburgh won series 2–1

### Quarterfinals vs. Boston

* Boston won series 4–0

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Greg Malone | 80 | 35 | 30 | 65 | 6 | 52 |
| Orest Kindrachuk | 79 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 3 | 84 |
| Peter Lee | 80 | 32 | 26 | 58 | –13 | 24 |
| Peter Mahovlich | 60 | 14 | 39 | 53 | –11 | 39 |
| George Ferguson | 80 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 10 | 37 |
| Randy Carlyle | 70 | 13 | 34 | 47 | 4 | 78 |
| Ross Lonsberry | 80 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 7 | 38 |
| Rick Kehoe | 57 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 14 | 2 |
| Rod Schutt | 74 | 24 | 21 | 45 | –9 | 33 |
| Ron Stackhouse | 75 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 21 | 54 |
| Gregg Sheppard | 60 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 8 | 9 |
| Dale Tallon | 63 | 5 | 24 | 29 | –15 | 35 |
| Tom Bladon | 78 | 4 | 23 | 27 | –17 | 64 |
| Colin Campbell | 65 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 137 |
| Blair Chapman | 71 | 10 | 8 | 18 | –12 | 18 |
| Russ Anderson | 72 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 1 | 93 |
| Gary McAdam$^†$ | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| Dave Schultz$^‡$ | 47 | 4 | 9 | 13 | –2 | 157 |
| Wayne Bianchin | 40 | 7 | 4 | 11 | –2 | 20 |
| Jacques Cossette | 38 | 7 | 2 | 9 | –1 | 16 |
| Bob Paradise | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 | 4 |
| Kim Davis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Price | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –2 | 4 |
| Jim Hamilton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Meeker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 5 |
| Brian Spencer | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lex Hudson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 281 | 427 | 708 | — | 1,005 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Colin Campbell | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 30 |
| Orest Kindrachuk | 7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Bladon | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| George Ferguson | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Hamilton | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gregg Sheppard | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Lee | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary McAdam | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ross Lonsberry | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Rick Kehoe | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Schutt | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Blair Chapman | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Greg Malone | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Peter Mahovlich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Cossette | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Paradise | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Stackhouse | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Randy Carlyle | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Lex Hudson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Russ Anderson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 16 | 23 | 39 | — | 84 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Denis Herron | 56 | 22 | 19 | 12 | 180 | 0 |
| Gregory Millen | 28 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 86 | 2 |
| Gordon Laxton | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 36 | 31 | 13 | 274 | 2 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| Denis Herron | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 2 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 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.

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1978–79 season:

### Trades

| September 6, 1978 | To Boston Bruins Jean Pronovost | To Pittsburgh Penguins Gregg Sheppard |
| October 9, 1978 | To Chicago Blackhawks 1980 2nd round pick (Ken Solheim) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Dale Tallon |
| October 18, 1978 | To Montreal Canadiens 1981 1st round pick (Mark Hunter) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Rod Schutt |
| November 17, 1978 | To Vancouver Canucks Dunc Wilson | To Pittsburgh Penguins cash |
| February 6, 1979 | To Buffalo Sabres Dave Schultz | To Pittsburgh Penguins Gary McAdam |
| June 9, 1979 | To Winnipeg Jets 1980 7th round pick (Michael Lauen) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Jets promise not to claim Kim Clackson as a priority selection from its WHA franchise |
| August 3, 1979 | To Detroit Red Wings Pete Mahovlich | To Pittsburgh Penguins Nick Libett |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Gene Carr | Atlanta Flames | free agency (1978-06-06) |
| Ed Gilbert | Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) | free agency (1978-10) |

## Draft picks

The 1978 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 15, 1978, in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 25 | Michael Meeker | Right wing | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 4 | 61 | Shane Pearsall | Left wing | Canada | Ottawa 67's (OHA) |
| 5 | 75 | Robert Garner | Center | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (OHA) |