Twenty Years Later - Nordiques 4, Penguins 4 - 11-12-12
"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' 4-4 tie with the Quebec Nordiques, Nov. 12, 1992.
The Penguins recorded their third tie of the season at the Civic Arena. Left winger Bob Errey gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead just 2:14 into the game when he scored his first goal of the season against goaltender Stephane Fiset. Defenseman Peter Ahola and center Mike Stapleton were credited with assists.
Shortly after that, Quebec tied the game, 1-1, when center Claude Lapointe scored his first goal of the season against goaltender Ken Wregget at 2:33 of the first period. The goal was unassisted.
Late in the period at the 19:54 mark, left winger Jeff Daniels restored the lead for the Penguins, 2-1, when he scored off assists from defenseman Paul Stanton and center Dave Tippett.
At 8:47 of the second period, center Mats Sundin tied the game, 2-2, with a goal. Lapointe and defenseman Alexei Gusarov netted assists.
A power-play goal by right winger Joe Mullen restored the Penguins' lead, 3-2. Assists went to centers Ron Francis and Mario Lemieux.
Quebec tied the game yet again at the 13:53 mark when right winger Owen Nolan scored on a power play off assists from defenseman Steve Duchesne and right winger Andrei Kovalenko.
Mullen scored again at 15:39 to give the Penguins a 4-3 advantage. Lemieux and right winger Rick Tocchet were credited with assists.
A goal by left winger Martin Rucinsky tied the game, 4-4, at 4:31 of the third period. Assists went to Kovalenko and Fiset.
Notes:
-Wregget made 22 saves in the tie.
-The three stars were 1.) Mullen 2.) Lapointe 3.) Sundin.
-Penguins left winger Troy Loney missed the game due to a neck injury.
-Two days after North Stars forward and former Penguin Dan Quinn was charged with rape of a Minnesota woman at the Penguins' hotel in Bloomington, Minn., Lemieux and Tocchet declined comment with local media after they were interviewed by police in Minnesota in regards to the alleged incident.
-Sundin extended a scoring streak to 17 games.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 12-3-3 | 28 |
| Rangers | 9-6-2 | 20 |
| Devils | 8-7-0 | 16 |
| Capitals | 7-8-1 | 15 |
| Islanders | 6-9-1 | 13 |
| Flyers | 5-8-3 | 13 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 18 | 22 | 27 | 49 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 14 | 15 | 18 | 33 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 18 | 9 | 13 | 22 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 18 | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| Ron Francis, C | 18 | 3 | 18 | 21 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 16 | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 18 | 4 | 13 | 17 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 17 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jim Paek, D | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Peter Ahola, D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Martin Straka, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Former Pitt football coach Johnny Majors agreed to a deal which would buy out the final two years of his contract with Tennessee.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)