Twenty Years Later - Rangers 11, Penguins 3 - 11-25-12
"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' 11-3 win against the New York Rangers, Nov. 25, 1992.
The Penguins had a three-game winning streak snapped at the Civic Arena in the second game of a home and home series. Center Mario Lemieux gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 14 seconds into the game with a goal against goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. Assists went to defenseman Jim Paek and right winger Jaromir Jagr.
New York tied the game, 1-1, when center Mark Messier scored on a breakaway against goaltender Tom Barrasso at 5:32 of the first period. Left winger Adam Graves and center Darren Tucotte collected assists.
The Rangers took a 2-1 lead when Turcotte scored his 10th goal of the season just over two minutes later at the 7:46 mark off assists from left winger Kris King and right winger Paul Broten.
The Penguins re-tied the game, 2-2, when center Ron Francis scored a short-handed goal at 12:01. Lemieux and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson were credited with assists.
A power-play goal at 16:58 by right winger Tony Amonte regained the lead for the Rangers, 3-2. Assists went to defensemen Brian Leetch and Mike Hurlbut.
The Penguins tied the game yet again at 4:10 of the second period when right winger Mike Needham scored off an assist from defenseman Larry Murphy.
At 12:43, Turcotte scored what proved to be the game-winning goal off assists from Graves and Leetch.
New York made it a 5-3 game at the 16:53 mark with a short-handed goal by Leetch. Messier collected the lone assist.
Just 3:38 into the third period, Messier scored again to double the lead, 6-3. The only assist went to Amonte.
Just under a minute later at 4:37, a goal by Broten made it a 7-3 score. Turcotte collected the lone assist.
At the 7:19 mark, Graves scored again against goaltender Ken Wregget to give New York an 8-3 advantage. Messier and defenseman James Patrick were credited with assists.
Hurlbut scored his first career goal at 13:44 off assists from Leetch and Messier.
Graves scored the game's final goal at 17:58 and completed his hat trick. Assists went to center Doug Weight and Messier.
Notes:
-Barrasso made 24 saves in the loss.
-The three stars were: 1.) Messier 2.) Graves 3.) Turcotte.
-The Penguins set a team record for most goals allowed and largest deficit of defeat in a home game.
-Dating back to the 1991-92 season, the Penguins had a 21-game home winning streak snapped. Their previous loss at the Civic Arena was a 8-4 defeat to the Whalers, Feb. 23, 1992.
-Hurtbut's goal would prove to be the only one of his NHL career.
-Rangers left winger Phil Bourque played his first game in the Civic Arena since leaving the Penguins as a free agent in the offseason.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 16-5-3 | 35 |
| Rangers | 11-9-2 | 24 |
| Devils | 11-10-0 | 22 |
| Capitals | 9-12-2 | 20 |
| Flyers | 8-9-4 | 20 |
| Islanders | 8-10-3 | 19 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 24 | 26 | 35 | 60 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 14 | 15 | 18 | 33 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 21 | 14 | 16 | 30 |
| Ron Francis, C | 24 | 5 | 20 | 25 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 24 | 9 | 15 | 24 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 24 | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 24 | 4 | 16 | 20 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 22 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 21 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 21 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 24 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Jim Paek, D | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Martin Straka, C | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Ahola, D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Pitt head football coach Paul Hackett re-signed with one game remaining in the season. He would be replaced by assistant head coach Sal Sunseri on an interim basis. In three seasons at Pitt, Hackett had a 13-20-1 record.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)