Twenty Years Later - Penguins 5, Sabres 2- 02-29-12
"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' 5-2 win against the Sabres, Feb. 29, 1992.
The Penguins snapped a four-game winless streak at the Civic Arena. Following a scoreless first period, defenseman Larry Murphy gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a goal against goaltender Tom Draper just 1:12 into the second period. Left winger Bob Errey and right winger Joe Mullen netted assists.
At the 6:20 mark, right winger Jaromir Jagr scored to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Center Bryan Trotter recorded the only assist.
The Penguins took a 3-0 lead at 10:02 off a goal from center Mario Lemieux. Assists went to right winger Rick Tocchet and left winger Kevin Stevens.
Center Dale Hawerchuk scored the Sabres' first goal against goaltender Tom Barrasso at 13:14 of the period. Left winger Dave Andreychuk netted the lone assist.
Mullen scored an unassisted goal at 14:04 of the third period to make it a 4-1 game.
Just over half a minute later at 14:38, right winger Alexander Mogilny scored Buffalo's second goal off assists from Andreychuk and defenseman Jay Wells.
The game's final goal was scored by Lemieux at the 16:54 mark. Assists went to Jagr and Errey.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 22 saves in the victory.
-The three stars were 1.) Lemieux 2.) Mullen 3.) Jagr.
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 63 | 39 | 56 | 95 |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 50 | 32 | 62 | 94 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 63 | 39 | 36 | 75 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 61 | 17 | 40 | 57 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 53 | 26 | 30 | 56 |
| Ron Francis, C | 53 | 15 | 22 | 37 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 47 | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 61 | 13 | 13 | 26 |
| Bryan Trottier, C | 49 | 9 | 14 | 23 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 60 | 8 | 14 | 22 |
| Phil Bourque, LW | 43 | 8 | 13 | 20 |
| Gordie Roberts, D | 57 | 2 | 18 | 20 |
| Jiri Hrdina, C | 46 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 59 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 47 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| Ken Priestlay, C | 49 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 38 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 40 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Jim Paek, D | 45 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 42 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Peter Taglianetti, D | 42 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 29 | 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 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Rangers | 40-20-4 | 84 |
| Capitals | 37-21-6 | 80 |
| Devils | 33-21-9 | 75 |
| Penguins | 28-27-8 | 64 |
| Islanders | 27-29-7 | 61 |
| Flyers | 23-29-11 | 57 |
Also in the news that day:
-Forward Chris McNeal scored 19 points for Pitt in a 78-61 road loss to Villanova at duPont Pavlilion.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)