Pittsburgh Hockey.NET

Back in 2001 on this date, the Penguins officially retired #21 in memory of Michel Briere.

It was a long-overdue gesture. Many of the newer fans have never heard of him or knew the story of why the number is retired. Here is his chapter of Penguins history...

Today's EDITOR'S VIDEO PICK (above) is rare footage of Briere's first NHL goal.

Ryan Malone said he didn't know what to expect for tonight's homecoming. Malone, who spent the first four years with the Penguins, returns with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Malone is from Pittsburgh, but he's not the first native Steel City resident to play in the NHL...

Today is Ron Schock's 65th birthday. Many of the new Pens fans have never heard of him, but he's the all-time Penguins Iron Man. Here's a list of players to play in every game.

Schock came to the Penguins in 1969 and is sixth on the team's all-time games played at 648. Schock was the captain of the Pens from 1973 to 1977. During that span he strung together a streak of 328 consecutive games played to establish a team record.

Who's the current Pens' Iron Man? Evgeni Malkin. He's played in 216 games in a row (as of December 18).

Malkin missed the first four games of his career after John LeClair wiped him out in a preseason game but hasn't missed a game since.

Second on the list behind Malkin is Jordan Staal at 204 games. He only missed one game when he was benched against the Florida Panthers on December 5th, 2005.

Pittsburgh has a new arena under construction, but few people are aware that Pittsburgh's first arena – The Casino – was the first place in North America that had artificial ice and was the first place competitive ice hockey was played in Pittsburgh.

It was a beauty. State-of-the-art. But it only lasted 19 months. In fact, it burned down exactly 112 years ago today. Check out the details of The Casino.

The Penguins' new arena has a new name: Consol Energy Center.

Consol has agreed to purchase the naming rights to the new facility for a term of 21 years.

The arena is scheduled to open during the 2010-11 season.