Coach Red Kelly led the Pittsburgh Penguins to their first postseason appearance in the third season of their existence in the NHL and it was his first year with the team.
The Penguins finished 5th place in the previous two seasons and Kelly led the team to a second-place finish and a first-round sweep of the Oakland Seals.
For his efforts, Kelly was named “coach of the year” in the midst of the Penguins’ second-round series vs. St. Louis.
Here is a look back at the 1970 semi-finals.
Close yet far
Game 1
Although it was just the first period in the first game of the series, the Penguins and Blues wasted little time in “getting to know” each other, as things went sour 19 seconds into the game and carried on throughout the night.