Twenty Years Later - Nordiques 4, Penguins 4 - 02-20-12

"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2011-12 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1991-92 season which led to the second 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' 4-4 tie against the Nordiques, Feb. 20, 1992.

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The Penguins finished a two-game home stand at the Civic Arena. After a scoreless first period, right winger Greg Paslawski gave Quebec a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 1:11 of the second period against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Centers Joe Sakic and Claude Lapointe recorded assists.

At the 8:33 mark, defenseman Larry Murphy tied the game with a power-play goal against goaltender goaltender John Tanner. Assists went to center Mario Lemieux and right winger Rick Tocchet.

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Just over a minute and a half later at 10:00, right winger Owen Nolan restored the lead for Quebec, 2-1, with a power-play goal off assists from Sakic and left winger John Tonelli.

Almost immediately at 10:45, the Penguins tied the game again, 2-2, with a backhanded goal by right winger Joe Mullen. Assists were credited to Murphy and Lemieux.

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Late in the period, Nolan scored another power-play goal at 18:48 to make it a 3-2 game off assists from Sakic and center Mats Sundin.

Just 37 seconds into the third period, right winger Jaromir Jagr tied the game, 3-3 with a backhanded goal. Murphy had the only assist.

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A goal off a wrister by Sundin at 10:20 made it a 4-3 game. Tonelli recorded the lone assist.

Center Ron Francis tied the game again, 4-4 with a rebound goal at the 12:14 mark off an assist from Jagr.

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Notes:

-Barrasso made 29 saves in the tie.

-The three stars were 1.) Nolan 2.) Sakic 3.) Murphy.

-Jagr played his first game following a 10-game suspension for making contact with referee Ron Hoggarth Jan. 26.

-Tocchet and defenseman Kjell Samuelsson made their debuts with the Penguins after being acquired in a trade from the Flyers a day earlier.

Statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Kevin Stevens, LW	59	39	53	92
Mario Lemieux, C	46	29	58	88
Joe Mullen, RW	59	36	34	70
Jaromir Jagr, RW	49	24	29	53
Larry Murphy, D	57	14	37	51
Ron Francis, C	49	15	20	35
Rick Tocchet, RW	43	13	17	30
Bob Errey, LW	58	12	11	23
Bryan Trottier, C	45	9	13	22
Troy Loney, LW	56	8	14	22
Gordie Roberts, D	53	2	17	19
Phil Bourque, LW	39	7	11	18
Jiri Hrdina, C	43	3	12	15
Kjell Samuelsson, D	55	4	9	13
Ulf Samuelsson, D	43	1	10	11
Ken Priestlay, C	47	2	8	10
Jamie Leach, RW	38	5	4	9
Paul Stanton, D	39	2	6	8
Jim Paek, D	41	0	6	6
Grant Jennings, D	42	2	1	3
Peter Taglianetti, D	42	1	2	3
Jeff Chychrun, D	26	0	3	3
Gord Dineen, D	1	0	0	0
Glenn Mulvenna, C	1	0	0	0
Todd Nelson, D	1	0	0	0
Jeff Daniels, LW	2	0	0	0
Jay Caufield, RW	33	0	0	0

Patrick Division Standings:

	Record	Points
Rangers	37-20-4	78
Capitals	34-20-5	73
Devils	32-18-8	72
Penguins	27-24-8	62
Islanders	25-26-7	57
Flyers	21-26-11	53

Also in the news that day:

-In a consolation round game at the Albertville Winter Olympics, former Maple Leafs defenseman Borje Salming had a goal for Sweden which defeated rival Finland, 3-2, at Méribel Ice Palace in Méribel, France.

-Former Steelers punter Dan Stryzinski agreed to a three-year contract worth a total of $1 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards; Videos: Jay Korber)