Twenty Years Later - Penguins 5, Sharks 2 - 03-23-13
"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2012-13 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1992-93 season which led to the only President's Trophy in franchise history. The 1992-93 squad is commonly regarded as the most talented in the history of the Penguins. We will look back on games on the date they happened.
Today, we look at the Penguins' 7-2 win against the San Jose Sharks, March 23, 1993.
The Penguins won their seventh consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Left winger Kevin Stevens gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a goal against goaltender Arturs Irbe 1:18 into the contest. Assists went to right winger Rick Tocchet and center Mario Lemieux.
Late in the first period at the 17:36 mark, Stevens scored again off assists from Lemieux and right winger Jaromir Jagr.
San Jose got on the scoreboard at 4:45 of the second period when center Dean Evason scored against goaltender Tom Barrasso. The lone assist was recorded by defenseman David Williams.
Just under 10 minutes later at 14:02, Lemieux scored the eventual game-winning goal. Stevens and Tocchet had assists.
Late in the period at the 19:46 mark, a goal by defenseman Larry Murphy made it a 4-1 contest. Stevens and Lemieux collected assists.
At 10:16 of the third period, rookie center Martin Straka scored to give the Penguins a 5-1 lead. Assists went to left winger Troy Loney and Jagr.
Lemieux scored again at the 14:08 mark off assists from defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and Tocchet.
Jagr scored his 30th goal of the season at the 17:56 mark. Loney and Straka collected assists.
The game's final goal was scored by former Penguins defenseman Peter Ahola at 19:26. Assists went to center Dody Wood and defenseman Doug Zmolek.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 27 saves in the win.
-The three stars were: 1.) Lemieux 2.) Stevens 3.) Barrasso.
-Stevens' assist on Murphy's goal gave him 100 for the season. It was the second time in his career he reached that mark.
-Stevens' assist on Lemieux's first goal gave him 400 for his career.
-Defenseman Mike Ramsey made his debut with the Penguins one day after being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for left winger Bob Errey.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 46-21-6 | 98 |
| Capitals | 37-26-7 | 81 |
| Devils | 36-31-6 | 78 |
| Rangers | 33-26-11 | 77 |
| Islanders | 34-32-6 | 74 |
| Flyers | 26-34-11 | 63 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 49 | 52 | 77 | 129 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 63 | 52 | 48 | 100 |
| Ron Francis, C | 74 | 20 | 67 | 87 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 69 | 37 | 48 | 85 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 69 | 30 | 49 | 79 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 73 | 18 | 56 | 74 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 62 | 27 | 33 | 60 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 73 | 26 | 31 | 57 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 65 | 2 | 23 | 25 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 70 | 5 | 12 | 17 |
| Jim Paek, D | 73 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 73 | 4 | 12 | 16 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 63 | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 53 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Martin Straka, C | 30 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 67 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 53 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 47 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 50 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Mike Ramsey, D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Former Steelers offensive tackle Tunch Ilkin signed a two-year contract with the Green Bay Packers.
-Second baseman Carlos Garcia went 2 for 3 with an RBI for the Pirates in a 4-3 spring training loss to the Texas Rangers at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)
