Twenty Years Later - Penguins 9, Red Wings 6 - 10-22-12
"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2012-13 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1992-93 season which led to the only President's Trophy in franchise history. The 1992-93 squad is commonly regarded as the most talented in the history of the Penguins. We will look back on games on the date they happened.
Today, we look at the Penguins' 9-6 win against the Red Wings, Oct. 22, 1992.
The Penguins extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to eight games and won their fifth consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Penguins center Dave Tippett opened the scoring with his first goal of the season off a slapper from the left circle 7:54 into the game against goaltender Tim Cheveldae. Center Mike Stapleton and defenseman Paul Stanton netted assists.
Just over nine minutes later at 17:02 of the first period, center Mario Lemieux scored a rebound goal on a power play to make it a 2-0 game. Assists went to right winger Jaromir Jagr and left winger Kevin Stevens.
Late in the period at 19:15, with the teams playing four on four, Lemieux scored his 10th goal of the season to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead. Defenseman Larry Murphy recorded the lone assist.
Detroit got on the scoreboard just 1:54 into the second period when center Jimmy Carson scored on a rebound against goaltender Tom Barrasso off assists from left winger Dallas Drake and defenseman Mark Howe.
Just over four minutes later, a goal by defenseman Yves Racine at 5:55 made it a 3-2 game. Assists went to center Sergei Fedorov and defenseman Steve Chiasson.
Less than a minute after that at 6:46, the Penguins responded with a power-play goal by Jagr to make it 4-3. Assists were credited to Lemieux and Murphy.
Exactly a minute later at the 7:46 mark, a backhanded goal by right winger Bob Probert pulled the Red Wings within one score, 4-3. The only assist was netted by center Sheldon Kennedy.
A power-play goal by right winger Rick Tocchet at 12:48 restored a two-goal lead for the Penguins, 5-3. Stevens and Lemieux had assists.
Detroit returned the favor on its own power play at 15:26 when Fedorov scored off assists Chiasson and Lidstrom.
An unassisted power-play goal by Chiasson off a slapper at 15:55 tied the game, 5-5.
At 9:12 of the third period, Tocchet scored again to restore the Penguins' lead, 6-5. Murphy and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson had assists.
Right winger Shawn McEachern scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 13:26 mark off assists from Jagr and defenseman Jim Paek.
All of eight seconds later at 13:34, McEachern scored again to give the Penguins an 8-5 lead. Jagr and center Ron Francis recorded assists.
Detroit right winger Dino Ciccarelli scored on a power play at 17:16 to narrow the Penguins' lead, 8-6. Assists went to center Steve Yzerman and left winger John Ogrodnick.
Lemieux secured the win by scoring the game's final goal at 18:28 off assists from Tocchet and Stevens.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 28 saves in the win.
-The three stars were 1.) Lemieux 2.) McEachern 3.) Jagr.
-Tocchet's first goal was his 500th career point in the NHL.
-Lemieux recorded his 28th career hat trick.
-Lemieux had recorded at least two points in all eight of the Penguins' first games.
-Tippett's goal was the first of his career as a Penguin.
-The Penguins had 14 of their 18 skaters who dressed that night record a point.
-McEachern's two third period goals in eight seconds was one second short of the franchise record for the two fastest goals by one player. Center Wally Boyer scored twice in seven seconds in a 5-3 loss against the Red Wings, March 5, 1970.
-The Penguins set a franchise record by going unbeaten in their first eight games of the season.
-Including the previous season's playoffs, the Penguins were 17-0-2 in their previous 19 games.
-The Red Wings extended a winless streak in Pittsburgh to nine games (0-8-1).
-Prior to the game, former right wingers Rick Kehoe, Jean Pronovost and former coach Bob Johnson were inducted into the Penguins' hall of fame.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 6-0-2 | 14 |
| Rangers | 5-2-0 | 10 |
| Devils | 4-3-0 | 8 |
| Flyers | 3-4-2 | 8 |
| Islanders | 3-3-1 | 7 |
| Capitals | 3-4-0 | 6 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 8 | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 8 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 8 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| Ron Francis, C | 8 | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 8 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 8 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jim Paek, D | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Outfielder Lonnie Smith went 1 for 4 with a grand slam to push the Braves to a 7-2 win against the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the World Series at Toronto's Skydome. Toronto had a 3-2 series lead.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)