The Pittsburgh Penguins open the 2010-11 campaign by reporting to training camp on Friday, Sept. 17, and will hit the ice for their first practice on Saturday, Sept. 18. The Penguins’ first two practice dates – Saturday, Sept. 18 and Sunday, Sept. 19 – will be open to the public at the brand-new CONSOL Energy Center. Please see related release for details.

The Penguins will play six preseason games, beginning with the first-ever hockey game to be played at CONSOL Energy Center against Detroit Sept. 22. The Penguins will also host Columbus Sept. 25 and Chicago Sept. 28. All home games will start at 7 p.m. The Penguins have three road preseason scheduled this year: at Columbus, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.; Chicago, Oct. 1 at 8:30 p.m.; and Detroit, Oct. 3 at 5 p.m.

The Penguins will play the first regular-season contest at CONSOL Energy Center Oct. 7 against interstate rival Philadelphia.

Two Pens Pre-Season Games To Be Televised
Sept. 25 vs. Columbus on Pittsburgh’s CW at 7PM
Sept. 28 vs. Chicago on FSN Pittsburgh -tape delayed, will be broadcast following the Pirates’ post-game show.

FSN, the exclusive rights holder to Pittsburgh Penguins regional hockey game telecasts, announced today it will telecast a minimum of 71 contests in the 2010-11 National Hockey League regular season, all of which will be produced and available in high definition. FSN begins its telecasts season on Sat., October 9 when the Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens at the Consol Energy Center. Penguins FACEOFF Presented by Trib Total Media LIVE from the new arena is set for 6:30pm.

“FSN Pittsburgh and the Penguins are coming off our highest rated regular season and playoff year of all time on the network. We look forward to celebrating the opening of the arena, this new era in Penguins hockey and more record breaking ratings with the team, our partners and the fans this fall,” said FSN Senior Vice President & General Manager Ted Black.

All 82 of the Penguins NHL games will be televised with a minimum 71 games regionally on FSN Pittsburgh. Versus plans to carry seven games nationally highlighted by the season’s home opener on October 7. In addition, the Penguins can be selected for up to four regular season games on NBC, including the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The NHL will offer flexible scheduling again this season for NBC.

Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey return as the voices of Penguins Hockey on FSN. Before every game, FSN will feature Penguins FACEOFF Presented by Trib Total Media with StarKist Penguins Postgame wrapping up the live event telecast. FSN will continue the popular Penguins Instant Replay, a two-hour replay of the game, as well as the 30-minute Penguins Rewind for most games this season.

Pens Full Regular Season Schedule

From NHL.com:

Here’s a look at some of the best debut seasons ever by players who made their debut as 18-year-olds or in the first season immediately after turning pro:

Sidney Crosby
Birthday: Aug. 7, 1987
Drafted: No. 1 in 2005 by Pittsburgh
2005-06: 39-63-102

Crosby was the most heralded junior player in decades, and the Penguins won a lottery after the work stoppage to obtain the No. 1 pick in the 2005 Entry Draft they used to take him.

Crosby quickly showed why he was so highly regarded, becoming one of only seven players to reach the 100-point mark in his rookie season — and only the fourth to do so as an 18-year-old (the third to do it in his first season after being drafted). Given the reduction in scoring that had taken place since the 1980s, it can be argued that Crosby’s rookie season was the most impressive by a first-year player of any age in the 40-plus years since expansion.

Though the Penguins had finished last in the overall standings in 2003-04 before landing Crosby, they were only marginally better (29th overall) with him in the lineup. But three years later, Crosby and the rebuilt Penguins finished their season as Stanley Cup champions.

The NHL revealed the 2011 All Star Game logo on Monday & also reported that the tallest building in Raleigh, the RBC Plaza on Fayetteville St., will display a 5,000 square-foot window treatment promoting All-Star Weekend.

Although neither the media nor the general public were on hand to witness Penguins Hall of Fame owner Mario Lemieux and team captain Sidney Crosby participating in the first skate on the ice at CONSOL Energy Center with a group of several young children on Tuesday afternoon, the monumental occasion was watched by a few hundred lucky observers.

When Lemieux and Crosby simultaneously hit the ice at 2 p.m. they were greeted by an audience of construction workers who had congregated to the far side of the arena’s main concourse level with cell phone cameras in hand to document this arena first.

Needless to say, having the chance to watch arguably the franchise’s two biggest icons sharing a slab of together for the first time since December of 2005, especially in such a private setting and milestone event, was something each construction worker felt privileged to be a part of.

“I mean who else would you pick to do this?” said Kurt Amundsen, one of the arena architects for Populous. “It’s pretty obvious who the best choices were. It’s nice getting to see the past, present and future of the team all wrapped up in two guys. This is a historical moment for the city and the team and it is an honor to be a part of it.”

Despite the myriad of incredible moments that already litter his still-young NHL career, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby takes little for granted.

He understands he has been blessed with the opportunity to play in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, his second such game in the four-year history of the New Year’s Day hockey spectacle.

Crosby was the star of the inaugural Winter Classic in 2008, scoring the deciding goal against host Buffalo in a shootout through a snow squall at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Now, he gets a chance to top that iconic moment this New Year’s Day when his Penguins host the rival Washington Capitals at Heinz Field.

Throughout a question-and-answer session with reporters Tuesday, Crosby repeatedly stressed how fortunate he and his teammates are to take part in another installment of what has become the signature event of the NHL regular season.

Crosby also talked about the white-hot rivalry these two teams have developed over the past six years, his thoughts on playing in the home of the Steelers and the odds of him being a successful football player.

Q: Your thoughts on playing here Jan. 1?

CROSBY: It’s a huge crowd, and to see the ice out here, it looks kind of small. Obviously all the focus is on the game, so it’s an exciting time. To have that and be at home, we feel pretty lucky.

The Penguins unveiled their Winter Classic logo, which is the original logo from the team’s inaugural season in 1967.

Even though the Penguins and their fans have known for months that the city of Pittsburgh and Heinz Field will be hosting the 2011 Bridgestone Winter Classic, the NHL and all the combined parties came together with an official announcement on the field Tuesday afternoon.

On the grass at the center of the Steelers’ home stadium, a podium was erected as the top brass for the NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Steelers and local government officials gathered for the announcement.

“I can speak for (Penguins owners) Mario (Lemieux) and Ron Burkle, about how excited we are for the Penguins to be hosting the Winter Classic,” Penguins president David Morehouse said. “Pittsburgh has always been a great sports town, and it’s always been a football town. But with the help of Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby and all the players over the past few years with the Penguins, and with the official announcement of hosting the Winter Classic, Pittsburgh has now become a hockey town, and it will always be a hockey town.”

Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Maxime Talbot and a few Capitals players did their best impression of Jeff Reed, the Steelers kicker, at Heinz Field on Tuesday afternoon. However, instead of kicking the ol’ pigskin through the uprights, the players did an NHL version of field goals.

With a puck on the edge of their stick and placed at the base of a ramp, each player took turns snapping shots high into the stratosphere and between the two rising yellow poles.

The three Penguins and their two Capitals counterparts (David Steckel and Mike Knuble) competed in three friendly rounds of varying distances – from the future near blue line, red line and far blue line.

“That was a lot of fun,” Talbot said. “I felt like I was in Jeff Reed’s shoes for one day. It was not easy to do that. I do not have the strongest forearms, but I think it was a great event.”

“It’s not easy to do that,” Crosby said. “It’s nice to do something like that to spice things up like that. That’s probably something none of us will ever get to do again.”

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby hoped to wait until CONSOL Energy Center was completely finished before he stepped foot inside the Penguins’ new home. With most of the major construction complete outside of a few nuts and bolts here and there, the Penguins superstar made his first visit to the arena on Tuesday afternoon, as he and Penguins Hall of Fame owner Mario Lemieux christened the ice surface.

Crosby and Lemieux became the first people to skate at CONSOL Energy Center when they each hit the ice together shortly after 2 p.m. The pair emerged from the Penguins locker room in their warmup gear, walked to separate doors on the Penguins bench and skated onto the ice in unison as Penguins’ employees and construction workers looked on.

For Lemieux, it was the culmination of all the years of hard work he and his ownership group devoted to make the CONSOL Energy Center a reality for the city of Pittsburgh, while Crosby was appreciative to have the chance to be one of the first people skate on the CONSOL ice.

“It felt great to be able to skate for the first time with Sid,” Lemieux said. “I think it was pretty special for all of us. It was a long time coming. We worked hard to get this accomplished. I’m glad we were able to do this today.”

(I’ll get the photos up later)

One of the most important “firsts” in the history of CONSOL Energy took place today – Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby were the first to skate on the ice at Pittsburgh’s sparkling new arena.

The Penguins’ owner and captain came out of different doors on the Penguins’ bench so that their skates actually touched the ice at the same time.

“That was pretty special,” said Crosby, who got his first look at the new arena. “There are going to be a ton of things that happen here, so to go out there and be the first ones on the ice, that was pretty special. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to skate with Mario.”

We are still six months away from the drop of the puck between the Penguins and Washington Capitals at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field, but the details surrounding hockey’s grandest stage will begin to take shape as the NHL holds an introductory media conference on Tuesday.

Headlining the list of speakers expected to address the media at noon on Tuesday are NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Penguins chairman Mario Lemieux, Penguins president David Morehouse, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Steelers president Art Rooney II.

Among the highlights of Tuesday’s media conference, which will be streamed live on PittsburghPenguins.com in addition to being broadcast nationally on NHL Network, are the unveiling of the 2011 Winter Classic logo and a mockup of where the ice rink will sit on the Heinz Field surface.

NBC and VERSUS play-by-play announcer Doc Emrick will be on hand to serve as the event’s emcee.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby won his fourth straight ESPY Award as the Best National Hockey League Player Wednesday night.

Winners are determined by online fan voting, which was conducted at espn.com

Crosby has now won more ESPYs than any other NHL player since the awards were created in 1993. He broke a tie with current Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who won the ESPY three times (1993, 1994 and 1998).

In addition to Crosby’s individual honor, the United States-Canada Gold Medal Game at the 2010 Winter Olympics won the ESPY Award for Best Game. Canada defeated the Americans, 3-2 in overtime, on a game-winning goal by Crosby 7:40 into the extra session to capture the gold medal on home ice.

Pittsburghpenguins.com caught up with Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal after the 2010 NHL Award show in Las Vegas. Here is what they had to say about the night.

Sidney Crosby
On talking to other players about the season:
You just congratulate the guys on their season. When you look at the case of three guys nominated, all three had great seasons. There’s not much to say. Every guy is hoping to win, but the three guys have had pretty good seasons.
On the talent at the top of the league:
Alex (Ovechkin) year after year is right there for individual awards. Henrik (Sedin) had a great season. I think everyone saw that coming with the year’s he’s been having. I don’t think that’s any surprise. Those guys had terrific seasons.
On being disappointed for Jordan Staal not winning:
It’s not something you think about. I’m sure Staalsy isn’t thinking about winning the Selke when he’s going down to block a shot. When you have that opportunity, it’s not easy, you have more of an apprecation for it. I don’t think disappointment is the right word. You’re hoping, but I don’t think you’ll change your opinion on the season because of that. For Staalsy, for myself, just to be here says a lot about the season.
On closing the book on the season:
It’s easier now that the awards are over and there’s no more hockey to watch. Chicago will enjoy having the Cup for the summer, but we’ll all be chasing it again in September. That’s the exciting part.