Twenty Years Later - Penguins 7, Canucks 3 - 03-26-12
"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' 7-3 win against the Canucks, March. 26, 1992.
The Penguins opened a three-game home stand at the Civic Arena. Left winger Bob Errey gave the Penguins 1-0 lead just 2:28 into the contest with a goal against goaltender Troy Gamble. Assists went to right winger Rick Tocchet and center Mario Lemieux.
Vancouver tied the game, 1-1, at 13:40 of the first period when left winger Geoff Courtnall scored against goaltender Ken Wregget. Center Cliff Ronning and right winger Trevor Linden netted assists.
At 15:06, the Penguins regained the lead, 2-1, when center Ron Francis scored his 20th goal of the season off assists from right winger Jaromir Jagr and defenseman Larry Murphy.
Less than a minute and a half later, Lemieux scored to make it a 3-1 lead. Tocchet had the only assist.
Just 48 seconds into the second period, the Penguins took a 4-1 lead when Tocchet scored off assists from Lemieux and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson.
At the 6:14 mark, Tocchet scored again to make it 5-1. Lemieux and left winger Kevin Stevens had assists.
Rookie right winger Pavel Bure scored his 30th goal of the season to make it a 5-2 game. Defenseman Jyrki Lumme and center Igor Larionov recorded assists.
Only 56 seconds into the third period, Linden scored making the score, 5-3. Courtnall and defenseman Dave Babych were credited with assists.
Francis scored his second goal of the game at 9:23 on a power play to make it a 6-3 game. Lemieux and Tocchet netted assists.
Shortly after that at the 9:35 mark, Lemieux scored the game's final goal off assists from Tocchet and Stevens.
Notes:
-Wregget made 35 saves in the win. It was his 100th career win.
-The game's three stars were: 1.) Lemieux 2.) Tocchet 3.) Francis.
-Lemieux's assist on Tocchet's second goal was his 600th career assist.
-Stevens recorded his 67th assist of the season and tied the NHL's single-season record for assist by a left winger originally set by Montreal's Mats Naslund in 1985-86.
-Penguins right winger Joe Mullen missed the game due to hip and back ailments.
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 61 | 42 | 82 | 124 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 75 | 51 | 67 | 118 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 74 | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 73 | 21 | 53 | 74 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 65 | 31 | 34 | 65 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 55 | 24 | 29 | 52 |
| Ron Francis, C | 65 | 21 | 31 | 52 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 73 | 17 | 16 | 33 |
| Bryan Trottier, C | 59 | 10 | 16 | 26 |
| Phil Bourque, LW | 53 | 9 | 15 | 23 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 71 | 8 | 15 | 23 |
| Gordie Roberts, D | 68 | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 71 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Jiri Hrdina, C | 52 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 57 | 1 | 13 | 14 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 49 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Ken Priestlay, C | 50 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 6 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Jim Paek, D | 49 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 48 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Peter Taglianetti, D | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Shawn McEachern, C | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 39 | 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 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Rangers | 49-23-5 | 103 |
| Capitals | 42-26-7 | 91 |
| Devils | 36-28-11 | 83 |
| Penguins | 36-30-9 | 81 |
| Islanders | 31-34-10 | 72 |
| Flyers | 30-34-11 | 71 |
Also in the news that day:
-Rookie goaltender Martin Brodeur made his NHL debut and made 24 saves for the Devils 4-2 defeat of the Bruins at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The win clinched a playoff berth for New Jersey.
-Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of rape.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)