October is a great month for hockey fans. This year though it was even more special. This year our beloved Penguins were going to open the 2009-2010 season as the defending Stanley Cup Champions. They were also opening the final season at the Mellon Arena. On October 2 over 17,000 fans packed the Mellon Arena to watch the Penguins add a third Stanley Cup banner to the rafters of Old Lady Mellon and to watch the Pens open up a new campaign against the New York Rangers. October signaled a new beginning. Last season was over. The celebration was over. It was time to defend what belonged to us. This was a new season with the same goal, win the Stanley Cup…Sidney Crosby hat trick against Montreal.

October Record: 11-3-0

October Highlights: Raising the third Stanley Cup banner on Opening Night…Opening the final regular season in Mellon Arena history…Beating the Flyers in their own house…Winning 7 games in a row…Overcoming 2 goal deficits against Florida and Columbus for wins… Spoiling John Tavares’ first NHL game on Long Island. 

October Lowlights: Starting off a horrible season against New Jersey…Being shut out by the Phoenix Coyotes on home ice. 

WTF Moment of the Month: Easy call on this one…Flyers’ Scott Hartnell biting the finger of Pens’ Kris Letang in Pittsburgh’s 5-4 win in Philly.

October Team Grade: A…What an awesome way to start off the season as the defending champs. Winning eleven out of fourteen which included a seven game winning streak. Everybody was on the same page and they were flying. No signs of any type of Stanley Cup hangover. Maybe the best month of the season.