# 1972–73 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1972–73 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's sixth season in the National Hockey League. The Penguins failed to make the 1973 playoffs.

## Regular season
### Final standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 42 | 27 | 9 | 284 | 225 | +59 | 93 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 37 | 30 | 11 | 296 | 256 | +40 | 85 |
| 3 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 30 | 11 | 254 | 230 | +24 | 85 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 32 | 34 | 12 | 233 | 251 | −18 | 76 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 32 | 37 | 9 | 257 | 265 | −8 | 73 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 31 | 36 | 11 | 232 | 245 | −13 | 73 |
| 7 | Atlanta Flames | 78 | 25 | 38 | 15 | 191 | 239 | −48 | 65 |
| 8 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 16 | 46 | 16 | 213 | 323 | −110 | 48 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

1972–73 Game log :
October: 5–5–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 3–4–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
1October 7Los Angeles2–4Pittsburgh11,1051–0–02
2October 11Pittsburgh5–2St. Louis17,8532–0–04
3October 14California2–5Pittsburgh12,2013–0–06
4October 15Pittsburgh4–8Boston15,0033–1–06
5October 17Pittsburgh5–0NY Islanders8,1754–1–08
6October 18Pittsburgh3–4Toronto16,2484–2–08
7October 21Boston4–2Pittsburgh12,7614–3–08
8October 24Pittsburgh4–0Vancouver15,5705–3–010
9October 27Pittsburgh3–6California3,2985–4–010
10October 28Pittsburgh2–5Los Angeles9,1815–5–010 :
November: 7–5–2 (Home: 6–2–1; Road: 1–3–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
11November 1Montreal7–1Pittsburgh10,4725–6–010
12November 2Pittsburgh2–4Philadelphia13,5115–7–010
13November 4NY Rangers4–6Pittsburgh12,2556–7–012
14November 5Pittsburgh1–1Detroit14,0416–7–113
15November 8Philadelphia2–5Pittsburgh7,4497–7–115
16November 11Vancouver4–3Pittsburgh11,8967–8–115
17November 12Pittsburgh0–1Buffalo15,6687–9–115
18November 15Minnesota1–7Pittsburgh8,6498–9–117
19November 18Atlanta1–6Pittsburgh10,9599–9–119
20November 19Pittsburgh5–3NY Rangers17,50010–9–121
21November 22St. Louis4–10Pittsburgh12,40511–9–123
22November 25NY Islanders2–2Pittsburgh12,31911–9–224
23November 26Pittsburgh2–6Atlanta9,04111–10–224
24November 29Toronto4–7Pittsburgh9,97112–10–226 :
December: 3–6–4 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 0–4–3)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
25December 2Chicago2–3Pittsburgh12,45913–10–228
26December 3Pittsburgh2–4Chicago13–11–228
27December 6Pittsburgh4–4California2,06213–11–329
28December 9Pittsburgh1–3Los Angeles9,68713–12–329
29December 13NY Islanders1–9Pittsburgh7,86614–12–331
30December 16Atlanta3–5Pittsburgh11,09515–12–333
31December 17Pittsburgh1–9NY Rangers17,50015–13–333
32December 19Boston3–2Pittsburgh10,41915–14–333
33December 23Pittsburgh3–6Montreal16,13215–15–333
34December 26Pittsburgh1–1Detroit14,42715–15–434
35December 27Pittsburgh3–3Toronto16,48815–15–535
36December 29Toronto4–0Pittsburgh11,33615–16–535
37December 30Detroit2–2Pittsburgh11,62115–16–636 :
January: 6–9–0 (Home: 5–3–0; Road: 1–6–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
38January 2Pittsburgh4–5St. Louis18,16115–17–636
39January 3Pittsburgh5–3Chicago16–17–638
40January 6Vancouver2–4Pittsburgh13,10017–17–640
41January 7Pittsburgh0–3NY Rangers17,50017–18–640
42January 10Detroit2–1Pittsburgh9,90617–19–640
43January 13Los Angeles1–3Pittsburgh11,50618–19–642
44January 14Pittsburgh2–3Detroit12,75518–20–642
45January 17Pittsburgh4–6Montreal16,01618–21–642
46January 18Montreal5–2Pittsburgh10,38818–22–642
47January 20Boston0–3Pittsburgh13,10019–22–644
48January 21Pittsburgh3–9Chicago19–23–644
49January 24Toronto2–5Pittsburgh10,80920–23–646
50January 25Pittsburgh3–6Philadelphia16,60020–24–646
51January 27Philadelphia5–3Pittsburgh13,10020–25–646
52January 31Los Angeles1–4Pittsburgh9,04821–25–648 :
February: 6–5–1 (Home: 5–0–1; Road: 1–5–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
53February 3Minnesota1–2Pittsburgh11,87822–25–650
54February 4Pittsburgh3–4Minnesota15,07022–26–650
55February 7Pittsburgh2–5Montreal16,02822–27–650
56February 10Pittsburgh3–6Boston15,00322–28–650
57February 14Vancouver2–6Pittsburgh8,75823–28–652
58February 17Buffalo3–3Pittsburgh13,10023–28–753
59February 18Pittsburgh1–4Buffalo15,66023–29–753
60February 20Pittsburgh4–0NY Islanders13,32724–29–755
61February 22NY Islanders1–2Pittsburgh9,20025–29–757
62February 24Chicago0–2Pittsburgh13,10026–29–759
63February 25Pittsburgh1–2Buffalo15,66826–30–759
64February 28St. Louis2–4Pittsburgh13,10027–30–761 :
March: 4–7–2 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 2–4–1)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
65March 3California2–1Pittsburgh11,68827–31–761
66March 4Minnesota5–2Pittsburgh12,62427–32–761
67March 7Pittsburgh4–10Minnesota15,27327–33–761
68March 10NY Rangers5–4Pittsburgh13,10027–34–761
69March 11Pittsburgh2–3Philadelphia16,60027–35–761
70March 14Pittsburgh3–2Los Angeles8,00728–35–763
71March 16Pittsburgh5–5California5,18028–35–864
72March 17Pittsburgh1–6Vancouver15,57028–36–864
73March 21California2–5Pittsburgh8,16929–36–866
74March 24Buffalo4–4Pittsburgh12,94529–36–967
75March 25Pittsburgh4–2Atlanta13,20030–36–969
76March 28Atlanta3–6Pittsburgh10,08131–36–971
77March 31Pittsburgh2–7St. Louis20,00931–37–971 :
April: 1–0–0 (Home: 1–0–0; Road: 0–0–0)
#DateVisitorScoreHomeDecisionAttendanceRecordPoints
78April 1Philadelphia4–5Pittsburgh11,25332–37–973 :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Syl Apps Jr. | 77 | 29 | 56 | 85 | 25 | 18 |
| Al McDonough | 78 | 35 | 41 | 76 | 20 | 26 |
| Lowell MacDonald | 78 | 34 | 41 | 75 | 37 | 8 |
| Bryan Hextall Jr. | 78 | 21 | 33 | 54 | –23 | 113 |
| Ron Schock | 78 | 13 | 36 | 49 | –12 | 23 |
| Greg Polis | 78 | 26 | 23 | 49 | –32 | 36 |
| Eddie Shack | 74 | 25 | 20 | 45 | –10 | 84 |
| Jean Pronovost | 66 | 21 | 22 | 43 | –15 | 16 |
| Darryl Edestrand | 78 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 3 | 88 |
| Dave Burrows | 78 | 3 | 24 | 27 | –4 | 42 |
| Nick Harbaruk | 78 | 10 | 15 | 25 | –11 | 47 |
| Ken Schinkel | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | –10 | 16 |
| Duane Rupp | 78 | 7 | 13 | 20 | –3 | 62 |
| Jack Lynch | 47 | 1 | 18 | 19 | –21 | 40 |
| Bryan Watson | 69 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 179 |
| Rick Kessell | 67 | 1 | 13 | 14 | –9 | 0 |
| Jean-Guy Lagace | 31 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –8 | 32 |
| Steve Cardwell | 20 | 2 | 2 | 4 | –2 | 2 |
| Jim Shires | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | –8 | 2 |
| Robin Burns | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | –6 | 20 |
| Jim Wiley | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sheldon Kannegiesser$^‡$ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | 0 |
| Ron Lalonde | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 257 | 418 | 675 | — | 856 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | W | L | T | GA | SO |
| James Rutherford | 49 | 20 | 22 | 5 | 129 | 3 |
| Denis Herron | 18 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 55 | 2 |
| Andy Brown$^†$ | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 0 |
| Cam Newton | 11 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 32 | 37 | 9 | 260 | 5 |
$^†$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

* Jean Pronovost became the first player to score 100 goals for the Penguins. He did so in a 3–3 tie against Buffalo on February 17.
* Syl Apps Jr. became the first player to record 50 assists in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–2 win over California on March 21.
* Syl Apps Jr. established a new franchise record for points in a season with 85, besting the previous high of 59 held by both himself and Andy Bathgate.
* Ken Schinkel established a career franchise record for games (371), assists (143) and points (236). He had led in two categories since 1969 and bested the previous high in games set by Val Fonteyne in 1972 (349).
* Darryl Edestrand established a new franchise record for goals (15) and points (39) in a season by a defenseman. He topped the previous high of 10 goals (held by himself) and 33 points (held by Noel Price, Bob Woytowich, Duane Rupp and himself).
* Lowell MacDonald established a new franchise record for highest plus-minus in a season (+36). He broke the previous high of +18 set by Syl Apps Jr. in 1972.
* Duane Rupp became the first Penguins defenseman to score 100 points. His final total of 104 bested the previous total of 93 held by Bob Woytowich

## Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1972–73 season:

### Trades

| October 6, 1972 | To Detroit Red Wings Roy Edwards | To Pittsburgh Penguins cash 1973 3rd round pick (Nelson Pyatt) 1974 2nd round pick (Bob Hess) |
| October 30, 1972 | To Atlanta Flames Brian McKenzie | To Pittsburgh Penguins cash |
| January 8, 1973 | To St. Louis Blues Joe Noris | To Pittsburgh Penguins Jim Shires |
| February 25, 1973 | To Detroit Red Wings 1973 3rd round pick cash (Nelson Pyatt) | To Pittsburgh Penguins Andy Brown |
| March 2, 1973 | To New York Rangers Sheldon Kannegiesser | To Pittsburgh Penguins player to be named (Steve Andrascik) |

### Additions and subtractions

Additions :
| Player | Former team | Via |
| Jim Wiley | Lake Superior State Lakers | free agency (1972–06–25) |
Subtractions :
| Player | New team | Via |
| Les Binkley | Ottawa Nationals (WHA) | free agency (1972) |
| Wally Boyer | Winnipeg Jets (WHA) | free agency (1972) |
| Val Fonteyne | Alberta Oilers (WHA) | free agency (1972) |
| Dunc McCallum | Houston Aeros (WHA) | free agency (1972) |
| Tim Horton | Buffalo Sabres | Intra-league draft (1972–06–05) |
| Bob Leiter | Atlanta Flames | Expansion draft (1972–06–06) |
| Keith McCreary | Atlanta Flames | Expansion draft (1972–06–06) |
| John Stewart | Atlanta Flames | Expansion draft (1972–06–06) |

## Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1972 NHL entry draft.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 24 | Jack Lynch | Defense | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 2 | 30 | Bernie Lukowich | Right Wing | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 3 | 40 | Denis Herron | Goaltender | Canada | Trois-Rivières Ducs (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 56 | Ron Lalonde | Center | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 5 | 72 | Brian Walker | Center | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 6 | 88 | Jeff Ablett | Left Wing | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 7 | 104 | D'Arcy Keating | Defense | Canada | Notre Dame (NCAA) |
| 8 | 120 | Yves Bergeron | Right Wing | Canada | Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 136 | Jay Babcock | Left Wing | Canada | London Knights (OHA) |
| 10 | 149 | Don Atchison | Goaltender | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |

### Draft notes

* The Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round pick went to the Minnesota North Stars as the result of a June 10, 1968, trade that sent Bob Woytowich to the Penguins in exchange for this pick.
* $^a$ The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick (originally from the Montreal Canadiens) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of a June 6, 1969, trade that sent Lou Angotti and a 1971 first-round pick to the Blues in exchange for Ron Schock, Craig Cameron and this pick.