The Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] just wrapped up their 57th season, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. Despite their recent lack of success, the franchise has appeared in the playoffs 37 times and won five championships. Our newest series will reflect on how the Penguins performed on specific days leading up to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. Today, May 18, Pittsburgh has compiled a 5-1 record in six games on this date. * 1995 - Game 7 Win vs. Washington Capitals (3-0) * 1996 - Game 1 Loss vs. Florida Panthers (5-1) * 2008 - Game 5 Win vs. Philadelphia Flyers (6-0) * 2009 - Game 1 Win vs. Carolina Hurricanes (3-2) * 2016 - Game 3 Win vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (4-2) * 2021 - Game 2 Win vs. New York Islanders (2-1) NOTABLE PENGUINS PERFORMANCES ON THIS DAY May 18, 1995 - Backed by two points from Jaromir Jagr (two assists) and Ron Francis (goal, assist), the Penguins eliminated the Capitals in Game 7 at the Civic Arena. It was the franchise's first playoff series win since the first round of the 1993 postseason, a 4-1 series victory over the New Jersey Devils. 'My Biggest Idol': IIHF World Championship Players Weigh In On Playing Against Crosby [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b059835d-da46-4a5e-9e73-bb59fdfe5820.jpeg] 'My Biggest Idol': IIHF World Championship Players Weigh In On Playing Against Crosby <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> captain Sidney Crosby had not played in the IIHF Men's World Championship since 2015, when he captained Team Canada to gold in Prague. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/players/my-biggest-idol-iihf-world-championship-players-weigh-in-on-playing-against-crosby] May 18, 2008 - Hall of Famer Marian Hossa records his first and only four-point playoff game [https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/hossama01/gamelog/playoffs] (goal, three assists) in a 6-0 win over the Flyers. However, he wasn't the only one reaching milestones, as Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone scored two goals and added an assist for his second and final three-point playoff game. May 18, 2009 - Defenseman Philipee Boucher scores the game-winner to give the Penguins a 3-2 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. Interestingly, this goal would be the only postseason game-winner [http://reference] of Boucher's career. The one-time Stanley Cup winner had 17 in the regular season during his 16-year career.
