Penguins record at Kraft Hockeyville Games

The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Sudbury, Ontario for a Kraft Hockeyville game against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday night.

The 2024 competition will be the franchise's third participation in this annual event, but will be the first time the franchise travels north to Canada.

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Kraft Hockeyville has been a staple of Canadian ice hockey since its inception in 2006, while the United States briefly participated in the program, running five seasons from 2015 to 2020.

When two Pennsylvania communities won the events in 2015 and 2017, the Penguins were there to celebrate and play preseason hockey.

In 2024, Elliot Lake, ON, won Canada's Kraft Hockeyville, and neighboring Sudbury, ON, home of the OHL's Sudbury Wolves, will welcome the Penguins and Senators.

Pittsburgh is 1-1 in Kraft Hockeyville games heading into Sunday's contest. Here is a summary of the previous competitions.

September 29, 2015 – Cambria County War Memorial Arena, Johnstown, PA

Pittsburgh Penguins 4 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2

Johnstown, PA won the inaugural US Strength Hockeyville competition in 2015. For fans of the movie Slap Shot, Johnstown holds a special place in the hearts of the hockey community as the hilarious film is loosely based on the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League.

The Penguins opened the scoring with a goal from Sergei Plotnikov just 14 seconds into the game. Future Pittsburgh player Brian Boyle evened the score at 1-1 before the “home team” took a 2-1 lead at halftime.

After Jonathan Drouin leveled the score at 2-2, Evgeni Malkin restored the Penguins' lead before Adam Clendening sealed the victory with a lightning strike thanks to a move from Plotnikov.

September 24, 2017 – UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Township, PA

St. Louis Blues 4 – Pittsburgh Penguins 1

The City of Belle Vernon, PA won the 2017 Kraft Hockeyville competition to upgrade its Rostraver Ice Garden facility. The Penguins were selected to play an NHL preseason game for the event and hosted the St. Louis Blues at their practice complex. Despite the home advantage, Pittsburgh lost 4-1.

When the Penguins welcomed Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Malkin to the preseason, their presence wasn't enough, even though Jake Guentzel scored first at 2:05.

The Blues rebounded to score four straight goals, starting with two second-period goals from Vladimir Tarasenko and Jordan Kyrou. With the net empty, Paul Stastny put the game out of reach with 23 seconds left, followed by Dmitrij Jaskin scoring another goal with just 11 seconds left.

Given the state of the Penguins and Senators heading into this matchup in 2024, it will be fun to watch two teams try to put a disappointing season behind them and look to the future.

The puck drops for tonight's contest at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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