The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the season with high hopes after making it to the Eastern Conference finals under rookie head coach Ivan Hlinka last year. Mario Lemieux was heading into the second year of his comeback, and hopes were that goaltender Johan "Moose" Hedberg could translate his playoff magic into regular season success.

Instead, Hlinka literally had trouble communicating with his players, and the Pens started off with four consecutive losses. The Penguins only managed to muster seven goals in the first four games, while giving up 17.

General Manager Craig Patrick shook things up by replacing Hlinka after the fourth loss with longtime Pens assistant coach Rick Kehoe. Hlinka was ridiculed by the media for not staying behind in Pittsburgh during the off season, as asked, to take lessons to improve his English. Many believe his inability to quickly translate his thoughts behind the bench resulted in the Pens' lackluster start.

Kehoe stepped up into his role as the new Penguins head coach and guided the team to their first win of the season on October 16, crushing the Ottawa Senators by the score of 5-2.

The Penguin offense finally came to life as Lemieux racked up his first points of the season, netting three assists, and rookie winger Toby Petersen scored his first NHL career hat trick with three goals. Robert Lang provided the rest of the Pens offense with a pair of special teams goals, one shorthanded and one on the power play. Lang’s power play goal was the first Pens power play success of the season.

The Pens defense also stood up to the challenge. Hedberg made 37 saves, including a stop on a penalty shot by the Senators' Marian Hossa. The Penguins' penalty killers also stopped Ottawa’s seven power play opportunities.

The Pens beat Ottawa again on October 19 for their second win of the season.