Penguins season-opening victory over Philadelphia sets multiple records and milestones
The Penguins won their season opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night, 7-0, but it was more than just the first victory of the season. It was a record-setting victory for the franchise.
When the puck dropped at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly, it was the beginning of the Penguins' 60th season in the National Hockey League.
The season opener also comes months after the Penguins were eliminated by the Flyers in Game 6 of the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
By the end of the night, the Penguins scored seven goals, outshot the Flyers 38-19, scored two power-play goals - good for a 50% efficiency rating - and killed off all three penalties they took.
However, there were multiple milestones achieved on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, according to Penguins historian Bob Grove.
The 7-0 victory was historic for multiple reasons. It became the largest margin of victory for the Penguins over the Flyers in Philadelphia. On two separate occasions, the Penguins had won by six goals in Philadelphia, but Wednesday night was the first time the Penguins won by seven goals in Philadelphia.
The 7-0 loss by the Flyers was also the most lopsided home-opening loss in their history.
On the other side of that victory, the seven-goal margin of victory became the Penguins' most decisive season-opening victory since 1995, when they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 8-3 in the 1995-96 home opener.
There were also plenty of individual milestones achieved during the dominant victory on Wednesday night.
Goaltender Arturs Silovs became the first goaltender in Penguins' history to record consecutive season-opening shutouts. Last year, Silovs blanked the New York Rangers 3-0 at Madison Square Garden. In last year's season opener, Silovs made 25 saves. Last night, Silovs made 19 saves.
Captain Sidney Crosby continued his dominance over the Flyers, recording an assist on the game-winning goal, making it his 140th regular-season point against the Flyers, an NHL record.
Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin's power-play goal to extend the Penguins' lead to 3-0 was his 100th regular-season point against Philadelphia, making him the sixth player to score at least 100 points against the Flyers.
Newly acquired forward Nick Robertson had a big debut for the Penguins, scoring two goals against the Flyers. He became the seventh player in franchise history to score multiple goals in his Penguins debut, joining Justin Brazeau, Rob Brown, John Chabot, Jake Guentzel, Avery Hayes, and Bobby Simpson.
His second goal of the night, a shorthanded tally to make it 6-0, was his first career shorthanded goal.
Now, the Penguins will return to Pittsburgh for their home opener on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena.
