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,
Capitals–Penguins rivalry second round since their 1998 series win against Ottawa (since then, no other D.C.-based team had advanced to a league semifinal series or game either). Washington went on to win an Eastern Conference title after winning Game 7 in Tampa against the Lightning, and then beat the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. Capitals–Penguins rivalry The Capitals–Penguins rivalry is a hockey rivalry between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Both teams have played in the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern