Twenty Years Later: Blues 6, Penguins 4 - 10-29-12
"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' 6-4 loss to the Blues, Oct. 29, 1992.
The Penguins suffered their first loss of the season at the St. Louis Arena. Just 2:06 into the game, St. Louis took a 1-0 lead when right winger Brett Hull scored a power-play goal off a rebound against former Blues goaltender Ken Wregget. Assists went to right winger Nelson Emerson and defenseman Jeff Brown.
At 9:35 of the first period, center Mario Lemieux tied the game, 1-1, when he scored with a wrister against goaltender Guy Herbert. Left winger Kevin Stevens and defenseman Paul Stanton netted assists.
St. Louis reclaimed the lead, 2-1, at 7:19 of the second period when center Bob Bassen scored on a rebound off assists from left winger David Mackey and former Penguins right winger Rich Sutter.
The Blues went up 3-1 when Brown scored a power-play goal on a breakaway at 13:14. Hull recorded the only assist.
Just over three minutes later at 16:15, Stevens scored to make it a 3-2 game. Lemieux and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson were credited with assists.
Late in the period, another goal by Lemieux tied the game again, 3-3 at the 18:54 mark. Stevens and right winger Rick Tocchet netted assists.
Mackey scored again at 10:47 of the third period to make it a 4-3 game. Assists went to Bassen and Sutter.
The Penguins tied the game yet again when center Ron Francis scored on a power play at 13:43 off assists from defenseman Larry Murphy and Lemieux.
Rookie left winger Jason Ruff scored what proved to be the winning goal at the 16:34 mark. Center Craig Janney and Sutter had assists.
Bassen scored an insurance goal at 17:22 off assists from Sutter and Mackey.
Notes:
-Wregget made 29 saves in the loss.
-The three stars were 1.) Bassen 2.) Sutter 3.) Lemieux.
-The Penguins had a team-record seven-game winning streak snapped.
-Lemieux extended his season-opening goal-scoring streak to 11 games.
-Ruff's goal was the first of his NHL career.
-Before the game, Blues coach Bob Plager had decided to resign. This was his final game as coach. He was replaced by former Penguins head coach Bob Berry.
-Penguins defenseman Jeff Chychrun, disgruntled over a lack of playing time, left the team and requested a trade.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 8-1-2 | 18 |
| Rangers | 7-3-1 | 15 |
| Devils | 6-4-0 | 12 |
| Islanders | 5-4-1 | 11 |
| Flyers | 3-6-3 | 9 |
| Capitals | 3-7-0 | 6 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 11 | 16 | 20 | 36 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 11 | 12 | 17 | 29 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 11 | 7 | 11 | 18 |
| Ron Francis, C | 11 | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 9 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 11 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 11 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 11 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Paek, D | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Pirates outfielders Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke were named to the Associated Press' All-Star team.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)