Twenty Years Later - Penguins 6, Flyers 5 - 03-31-12
"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' 6-5 win against the Flyers, March. 31, 1992.
The Penguins won their third consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Former Flyers right winger Rick Tocchet gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 1:17 into the game with a power-play goal against goaltender Ron Hextall. Left winger Kevin Stevens and center Mario Lemieux recorded assists.
The Flyers responded just over a minute later at the 2:29 mark of the first period when left winger Mark Pederson scored to make it 1-1 against former Flyers goaltender Ken Wregget. Right winger Kevin Dineen and defenseman Kerry Huffman had assists.
Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead when former Penguins center Dan Quinn scored off an assist from defenseman Dan Kordic at the 9:45 mark.
The Penguins tied the game again, 2-2, when Stevens scored at 11:19. Assists went to Lemieux and Tocchet.
A shorthanded goal by defenseman Grant Jennings gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead at 15:12. Lemieux and center Ron Francis had assists.
Quinn scored his second goal of the game on a power play to tie it again, 3-3, at 18:50. Center Rod Brind'Amour and defenseman Brian Benning netted assists.
Right winger Andrei Lomakin scored 5:56 into the second period to reclaim the lead, 4-3, for the Flyers. Assists went to right winger Dave Brown and left winger Mark Freer.
Just under 10 minutes later at 15:31, left winger Bob Errey scored off assists from left winger Phil Bourque and defenseman Jeff Chychrun to tie the game yet again, 4-4.
At 7:33 of the third period, Lemieux scored an unassisted goal to give the Penguins a 5-4 lead.
Just over five minutes later, the Flyers tied the game again when center Rod Brind'Amour scored at 12:42 off assists from defensemen Mark Howe and Garry Galley.
At 14:21, Jenning scored his second goal of the game which proved to be the game winner. Bourque and Francis netted assists.
Notes:
-Wregget made 22 saves in the win.
-The three stars were 1.) Lemieux 2.) Jennings 3.) Quinn.
-Stevens' goal set a NHL single-seasn record for points by a left winger with 122.
-Jennings scored two goals for the first time in his career.
-Flyers right winger Mark Recchi was held without a point in his first game at the Civic Arena following a February trade fro the Penguins.
-The game would be the Penguins last for nearly two weeks. The following day, a deadline to strike a new collective bargaining agreement expired without a reconciliation between the NHL and the NHLPA. The players would strike and would not return to the ice until Apri 13.
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 63 | 44 | 87 | 130 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 77 | 53 | 69 | 122 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 74 | 43 | 43 | 86 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 75 | 21 | 54 | 75 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 67 | 31 | 35 | 66 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 57 | 26 | 32 | 57 |
| Ron Francis, C | 67 | 21 | 33 | 54 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 75 | 18 | 16 | 34 |
| Bryan Trottier, C | 61 | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| Phil Bourque, LW | 55 | 10 | 17 | 26 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 73 | 9 | 15 | 24 |
| Gordie Roberts, D | 70 | 2 | 21 | 23 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 73 | 5 | 11 | 16 |
| Jiri Hrdina, C | 53 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 59 | 1 | 13 | 14 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 51 | 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 | 50 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Peter Taglianetti, D | 44 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Shawn McEachern, C | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 41 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 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 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patrick Division Standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Rangers | 49-24-5 | 103 |
| Capitals | 44-26-7 | 95 |
| Penguins | 38-30-9 | 85 |
| Devils | 37-29-11 | 85 |
| Islanders | 32-35-10 | 74 |
| Flyers | 31-35-11 | 73 |
Also in the news that day:
-Outfielder Lloyd McClendon went 5 for 5 with two RBIs and led the Pirates to a 9-3 spring training win against the Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium in Dunedin, Fla.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)