58 points
22-46-14
5th Atlantic Division
Notes: Win the NHL draft lottery and select Sidney Crosby with the No. 1 overall pick. He goes on to lead the Penguins with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists)-- the youngest player in NHL history to record 100. ... Attendance leaps from 486,961 in the pre-lockout season to 647,975.

105 points
47-24-11
2nd Atlantic Division
Notes: Their 47-point improvement marks the fourth-greatest turnaround in NHL history. ... They qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2001. ... Evgeni Malkin, their first-round pick in 2004, jumps from his Magnitogorsk team into the Penguins' lineup and earns the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. ... Another rookie, Jordan Staal -- taken No. 2 overall in the 2006 draft -- also makes the team and scores 29 goals. ... Marc-Andre Fleury wins 40 games. ... The franchise's streak of 119 consecutive home sellouts begins. ... The announcement comes late in the season that a new arena will be built.

102 points
47-27-8
1st Atlantic Division
Notes: Prolonged absences by Crosby and Fleury can't prevent the Penguins from winning their first division title since 1998 as Malkin steps up with the first 100-point season of his career. ... They record 100 points for the fifth time in team history and in consecutive seasons for the second time. ... Reach their first Stanley Cup final since 1992 before losing to Detroit in six games.

99 points
45-28-9
2nd Atlantic Division
Notes: An 18-3-4 finish to the season after replacing Michel Therrien with Dan Bylsma brings the team back from the brink of oblivion. The momentum continues right through hoisting the Stanley Cup in Detroit June 12. ... Malkin wins the Art Ross Trophy with his first NHL scoring title (113 points).