Division 3rd Patrick 1991–92 record 39–32–9 Road record 18–19–3 | Conference 4th Wales Home record 21–13–6 Goals for 343 (1st) | |
The 1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the Penguins' 25th season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was coming off of its first-ever Stanley Cup victory in 1990–91, as they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in the Finals in six games. The Penguins, along with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers, had five 30-goal scorers. Six players and three off-ice staff members from the 1991-92 team's year-end roster have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Contents
Off-season
In the off-season, Head Coach Bob Johnson was diagnosed with brain cancer, forcing him to step down, where the Penguins would bring in former St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres head coach Scotty Bowman to replace Johnson. Bowman had previously led the Canadiens to five Stanley Cup championships in the 1970s. Johnson would lose his battle to cancer on November 26, 1991, and the Penguins would honor him by wearing a patch on the left sleeve of their jersey with his nickname "Badger" written on it along with his birth year and death year.
Regular season
Pittsburgh started the season off very well, and through their first 38 games, they had a record of 22–12–4, earning 48 points and fighting with the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers for first in the Division. The team, along with Mario Lemieux, who missed time due to a back injury, would slump in their next 24 games, going 5–15–4 to slide down to .500 and battling with the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers for the final playoff position in the Division. The Penguins, facing losing defenseman Paul Coffey as a free agent after the season, would deal him to the Los Angeles Kings in a move that looked like they were giving up for the season, however, they would make a move to bring some more grit to the team, acquiring Rick Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson and Ken Wregget from Philadelphia for Mark Recchi, and the club would have a 12–5–1 record to close out the season, finishing in third place in the Division and making the playoffs for the second-straight season.
Mario Lemieux led the club offensively, despite missing 16 games to injuries, as he earned an NHL-high 131 points from 44 goals and 87 assists to win the Art Ross Trophy. Kevin Stevens led the team with 54 goals and finished second in League scoring behind Lemieux with 123 points. Joe Mullen would also have a solid season, as he scored 42 goals and earned 87 points, while Jaromir Jagr continued to develop, as he recorded 69 points in 70 games. Larry Murphy put up a defense-high 77 points in his first full season with the Penguins.
In goal, Tom Barrasso played the majority of the games, earning a team high 25 victories, along with a team best 3.53 goals against average (GAA), while earning a shutout for the club.
Offensively, the Penguins led the NHL in scoring, with 343 goals for.
On October 29, 1991, the Penguins were shut out at home 8–0 by the Washington Capitals. It was the first time the Penguins had been shut-out in a regular season game since January 2, 1989, when they coincidentally lost 8–0 on the road also to the Capitals. Prior to their home loss against the Caps, the Penguins had gone 211 consecutive regular season games without being shut-out.
Season standings
P - Clinched Presidents Trophy
Divisions: ADM – Adams, PAT – Patrick
p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy
bold – Qualified for playoffs
Division Semifinals
In the playoffs, the Penguins would open up against the Washington Capitals, who they defeated in the second round in the previous season en route to the Stanley Cup championship. The Capitals finished the season 11 points ahead of Pittsburgh, and had home ice for the series. Washington would open the series up with two solid victories at home, however, Pittsburgh responded with a Game 3 victory to cut the Caps series lead in half. Washington would demolish the Penguins in the fourth game, going up 3–1 in the series, and returning home in hopes of closing it out. Pittsburgh had no trouble beating the Capitals in Game 5, winning 5–2, and evened the series up at home in Game 6 with a 6–4 win. In the seventh and deciding game of the series, Tom Barrasso would step up, allowing only one goal as Pittsburgh won the final game by a 3–1 scoreline to upset the favored Capitals and complete the series comeback.
Division Finals
Up next was the Patrick Division-winning New York Rangers, who had 18 more points than Pittsburgh during the regular season. Pittsburgh would surprise the Rangers with a 4–2 victory in the opening game, however, New York tied the series up in the second game. The Rangers took a 2–1 series lead with 6–5 overtime victory. The Penguins would tie the series up with their own overtime win in the fourth game, as the series returned to New York for the fifth game. Pittsburgh would hang on for a 3–2 victory in the fifth game, and close out the series at home with a 5–1 win, to upset the Rangers, and return to the Conference Finals.
Conference Finals
The Penguins next opponent was the Boston Bruins, who they defeated in the playoffs the previous year in six games. The Bruins had 84 points during the regular season, three less than the Penguins, giving Pittsburgh home ice advantage. The Pens opened up the series with a 4–3 overtime win, then went up 2–0 in the series with a 5–2 win, as the series would shift to Boston. The Penguins stayed hot, winning Games 3 and 4 by identical 5–1 scorelines, to sweep the Bruins, and reach the Stanley Cup finals for the second-straight season.
Stanley Cup Finals
Pittsburgh had to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks in hopes of a second-straight Stanley Cup. The 'Hawks finished the season with 87 points, the same amount as the Penguins, and had defeated the St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers en route to the Finals, entering the series with an NHL playoff record ten-game winning streak. The Penguins, however, were on their own seven-game winning streak, as they won the last three games of the Rangers series and four in the Boston series. Pittsburgh stayed hot, with a 5–4 victory in Game 1, and then defeated Chicago 3–1 in Game 2 to go up 2–0 as the series would move to Chicago Stadium. The Penguins would then shut-out Chicago 1–0 in the third game to win their tenth in a row, with Pittsburgh finishing off the sweep after a 6–5 Game 4 win, setting an NHL playoff record with their 11th-straight win as they would become the first team since the 1986–87 and 1987–88 Edmonton Oilers to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Mario Lemieux would win his second Conn Smythe Trophy in as many years, as he recorded a League-high 34 points in just 15 playoff games.
Playoff log
Player statistics
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Transactions
The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1991–92 season:
Draft picks
Pittsburgh's draft picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Roster
* Mike Needham did not play any regular season games for Pittsburgh (played in the minors), but played 5 playoff games(not in the finals), Jeff Daniels played 2 regular season games for Pittsburgh, and spent the rest of the season in the minors. Their names were engraved on the Stanley Cup, even though they did not qualify. Ken Priestlay played 49 regular season games, but was playing in the minors during the playoffs. Priestlay was also included on the Stanley Cup.
Stanley Cup engraving
Bob Johnson died on November 28, 1991, of cancer. The NHL allowed his name to be included with the 1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pierre McGuire, Les Binkley, John Gill, Charlie Hodge, Ralph Cox were with the team as Scouts in 1990–91, but names were not included on the Stanley Cup that year. All five members have two Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh.
Farm teams
The IHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks finished second in the East Division with a 41-28-13 record. They defeated the Milwaukee Admirals and Kalamazoo Wings before being swept by the Kansas City Blades in the Turner Cup Finals. This finals loss came as a result of the Penguins recalling Jock Callander, Mike Needham, and Dave Michayluk to fill open spots left by injuries to both Mario Lemieux and Joe Mullen. Michayluk still won the Ironman Award by the IHL for playing in all of his team's games while displaying outstanding offensive and defensive abilities.
The East Coast Hockey League's Knoxville Cherokees finished last overall in the standings with a record of 20-36-8.
Media affiliates
Radio
Some of the games broadcast on WDVE because of KDKA-AM's broadcast conflict with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Television