2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season The 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the 51st season for the National Hockey League ice hockey team that was established on June 5, 1967. They entered the season as two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. It was the first season since the 2002–03 season in which the team played without goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was drafted to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. The Penguins failed to defend their title, after being eliminated in the Second Round of the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, ending their chances of a possible three-peat,
2009 Stanley Cup Finals before; it was also the first instance of a Stanley Cup Finals rematch since then. They were the first team in major professional sports to win a game seven of the championship round on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. They also became the third team to win a game seven in the Stanley Cup Finals as the visitor, the first since the Montreal Canadiens in (the Toronto Maple Leafs in being the other). Seeded fourth in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins became the lowest-seeded team to win the Cup since the fourth-seeded New Jersey