Twenty Years Later: Penguins 5, Lightning 4 - 11-01-11
"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' 5-4 win against the Lightning, Nov. 1, 1992.
The Penguins wrapped up a four-game road trip at Expo Hall in Tampa, Fla. against the expansion Lightning. Center Mario Lemieux gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead just 1:25 into the contest when he scored against former Penguins goaltender Wendell Young. Right winger Jaromir Jagr and Shawn McEachern netted assists.
Tampa Bay tied the game, 1-1, when former Penguins right winger Chris Kontos scored with a rebound on a power play at the 3:31 mark against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Assists went to center Brian Bradley and defenseman Doug Crossman.
The Lightning took a 2-1 lead at 15:16 when left winger Rob Zaumuner scored off assists from left winger John Tucker and center Adam Creighton.
Just over a minute later at 16:26, the lead incrased to 3-1 when defenseman Bob Beers scored the first regular season goal of his career. Kontos was credited with the lone assist.
Late in the period, the Penguins responded with a power-play goal by left winger Kevin Stevens at the 19:12 mark. Defenseman Larry Murphy and center Ron Francis netted assists.
At 10:41 of the second period, a goal by McEachern tied the game, 3-3. Assists went to Jagr and defenseman Jim Paek.
Just over two minutes after that, Stevens scored again on a power play to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead. Murphy had the only assist.
Lemieux scored the eventual game-winning goal at the 14:43 mark on another power play off assists from Stevens and Francis.
Defenseman Rob Ramage scored the game's final goal at 11:22 of the third period on a five-on-three power play. Assists were credited to rookie defensemen Roman Hamrlik and Kontos.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 24 saves in the wins.
-The three stars were: 1.) Lemieux 2.) Stevens 3.) Kontos.
-Young left the game due to an injured shoulder following Lemieux's second goal. He was replaced by goaltender Pat Jablonski.
-Lemieux extended his season-opening goal-scoring streak to 12 games.
-Right winger Joe Mullen made his season debut for the Penguins. A knee injury had sidelined him since the second round of the 1992 playoffs.
-The was the first meeting between the Penguins and Lightning.
Patrick Division standings:
| xxxxx | Record | Points |
| Penguins | 9-1-2 | 20 |
| Rangers | 7-4-1 | 15 |
| Devils | 7-5-0 | 14 |
| Islanders | 6-5-1 | 13 |
| Flyers | 3-7-3 | 9 |
| Capitals | 4-8-0 | 8 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 12 | 18 | 20 | 38 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 12 | 14 | 18 | 32 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 12 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| Ron Francis, C | 12 | 2 | 16 | 18 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 12 | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Paek, D | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Chychrun, D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Oilers Kicker Al Del Greco missed a 39-yard field goal with six seconds remaining and allowed the Steelers to claim a 21-20 win at Three Rivers Stadium. Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell completed 14 of 22 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns for the Steelers.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)