Twenty Years Later - Penguins 6, Nordiques 3 - 03-19-12
"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' win against the Oilers, March. 19, 1992.
The Penguins won their third consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Right winger Jaromir Jagr gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead just 1:02 into the game with a goal against goaltender Stephane Fiset. Left winger Kevin Stevens and defenseman Larry Murphy netted assists.
Just over a minute later at 2:23 of the first period, center Mario Lemieux made it a 2-0 game with an unassisted goal.
The Penguins went up 3-0 at 4:53 of the second period with a power-play goal by Stevens off assists from defenseman Ulf Samuelsson and Lemieux.
Quebec got on the scoreboard at that 7:03 mark when center Joe Sakic scored against goaltender Tom Barrasso off assists from center Mats Sundin and left winger Gino Cavallini.
Just over a minute later at 8:19, Lemieux scored a shorthanded goal to make it a 4-1 game. Center Ron Francis had the only assist.
Less than a minute later at 9:09, left winger Bob Errey scored another shorthanded goal against goaltender John Tanner making the score, 5-2. The lone assist went to left winger Phil Bourque.
Sundin scored the Nordique's second goal at 11:06 to make it a 6-2 game. Former Penguins left winger Wayne Van Dorp and defenseman Randy Velischek recorded assists.
Jagr scored the Penguins' final goal at 1:12 of the third period. The goal was unassisted.
The game's final goal was scored by defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn off assists from Sakic and right winger Owen Nolan.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 34 saves in the victory.
-The three stars were 1.) Lemieux 2.) Jagr 3.) Stevens.
-Stevens' assist on Jagr's first goal gave him 111 points on the season and set a new single-season record for points by an American-born player. The previous record of 110 points was set by Penguins right winger Joe Mullen in 1988-89 while with the Flames.
-The shorthanded goals by Lemieux and Errey came on the same penalty kill. It was only the third in franchise history the Penguins had scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill.
-The win pushed the Penguins into a tie for third place of the Patrick Division with the Devils.
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 58 | 38 | 75 | 113 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 72 | 48 | 64 | 112 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 72 | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 70 | 21 | 50 | 71 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 62 | 31 | 33 | 64 |
| Ron Francis, C | 62 | 19 | 30 | 49 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 53 | 22 | 24 | 45 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 70 | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| Bryan Trottier, C | 56 | 10 | 16 | 26 |
| Phil Bourque, LW | 50 | 9 | 15 | 23 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 68 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
| Gordie Roberts, D | 65 | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 68 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Jiri Hrdina, C | 52 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 54 | 1 | 12 | 13 |
| Ken Priestlay, C | 50 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Jim Paek, D | 49 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 45 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Peter Taglianetti, D | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Shawn McEachern, C | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 37 | 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 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Rangers | 45-23-5 | 95 |
| Capitals | 41-24-7 | 89 |
| Penguins | 35-29-8 | 78 |
| Devils | 34-27-10 | 78 |
| Islanders | 30-33-9 | 69 |
| Flyers | 28-32-11 | 67 |
Also in the news that day:
-Right fielder Kirk Gibson went 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBI for the Pirates in a 9-8 loss to the Texas Rangers in a spring training game at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)