20 Years Later - Flyers 5, Penguins 4 - 01-15-11
"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2010-11 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1990-91 season which led to the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. We will look back on games on a particular date and catch up with former players, coaches, executives and media members who were a part or around that team.
Today, we look at the Penguins' 5-4 loss against the Flyers, Jan. 15, 1991.
The Penguins lost their third consecutive road game at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. It took all of 3:52 into the game for the Flyers to take a 1-0 lead. Right winger Dale Kushner beat goaltender Tom Barrasso with a wrister from the right circle. Assists went to left winger Craig Berube and defenseman Gord Murphy.
Exactly 30 seconds later at 5:22, defenseman Kjell Samuelsson scored from the slot to make it 2-0 off assists from left winger Derrick Smith and center Ron Sutter.
At 10:37, a power play goal by right winger Rick Tocchet made it 3-0. Assists were credited to Defenseman Jiri Latal and Murphy.
Tocchet scored his 30th goal of the season at 14:12 to give the Flyers a 4-0 lead. The assists went to center Pelle Eklund and rookie center Mike Ricci.
The Penguins got on the board 20 seconds into the second period when left winger Bob Errey scored against goaltender Pete Peeters. Center John Cullen and right winger Mark Recchi recorded assists.
A goal at 1:27 by left winger Phil Bourque made it 4-2. The assists went to center Jiri Hrdina and rookie right winger Jaromir Jagr.
At the 9:25 mark, defenseman Paul Coffey narrowed the lead to 4-3 when he scored off assists from Cullen and right winger Scott Young.
The Flyers got the eventual game-winning goal at 14:36 from Ricci. Assists went to defenseman Terry Carkner and Samuelsson.
At 12:30 of the third, defenseman Gordie Roberts scored the game's final goal against goaltender Ron Hextall. Hrdina and Recchi had the assists.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 36 saves and recorded the loss.
-The three stars were 1.) Tocchet 2.) Samuelsson 3.) Ricci.
-Coffey's goal gave him 344 career points as a Penguin and moved him past Ron Stackhouse (343) as the highest-scoring defenseman in franchise history.
-The Flyers snapped a seven-game home losing streak.
-The win moved the Flyers ahead of the Penguins for second place in the Patrick Division.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Rangers | 26-15-8 | 60 |
| Flyers | 23-21-6 | 52 |
| Penguins | 24-21-3 | 51 |
| Devils | 19-19-9 | 47 |
| Capitals | 21-24-2 | 44 |
| Islanders | 16-24-6 | 38 |
Also in the news that day:
-Pirates outfielders Bobby Bonilla, Lloyd McClendon, pitchers Doug Drabek, John Smiley, Bill Landrum, Bob Kipper, second baseman Jose Lind and catcher Mike Lavalliere each filed for salary arbitration.
-At midnight, a deadline set by the United Nations for Iraq to leave Kuwait expired with Iraq refusing to withdraw.
-Bob Casey took an oath of office to begin his second term as Pennsylvania's governor.