Twenty Years Later - Penguins 5, Jets 2 - 12-08-12
"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' 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets, Dec. 8, 1992.
The Penguins won their second consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Right winger Rick Tocchet gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead 5:08 into the game with a goal against goaltender Bob Essensa. Assists went to left winger Kevin Stevens and center Mario Lemieux.
The Jets tied the game, 1-1, at 2:04 of the second period when left winger Darrin Shannon scored on a rebound against goaltender Ken Wregget. Rookie right winger Teemu Selanne and defenseman Dean Kennedy had assists.
A power-play goal off a deflection by Stevens at 13:08 regained the lead for the Penguins, 2-1. Center Ron Francis and Lemieux collected assists.
Just over a minute later at 14:33, right winger Jaromir Jagr scored the eventual game-winning goal off an assist from Francis.
Shortly after that, Selanne scored at the 14:47 mark to make it a 3-2 game. Defenseman Fredrik Olausson and center Thomas Steen netted assists.
Lemieux scored at the 17:31 mark to give the Penguins a 4-2 lead. Assists went to right winger Joe Mullen and Jagr.
The game's final goal was scored by Francis at 8:34 of the third period. Jagr and Mullen had assists.
Notes:
-Wregget made 32 saves in the victory.
-The three stars were 1.) Francis 2.) Tocchet 3.) Wregget.
-Francis extended a scoring streka to seven games.
Patrick Division standings:
| Record | Points | |
| Penguins | 20-7-3 | 43 |
| Capitals | 14-13-2 | 30 |
| Devils | 14-11-1 | 29 |
| Rangers | 13-11-3 | 29 |
| Flyers | 10-12-4 | 24 |
| Islanders | 10-13-4 | 24 |
Statistics:
| Player Position |
Games Played |
Goals | Assists | Points |
| Mario Lemieux, C | 29 | 32 | 46 | 78 |
| Kevin Stevens, LW | 20 | 20 | 23 | 43 |
| Rick Tocchet, RW | 27 | 20 | 22 | 42 |
| Ron Francis, C | 30 | 10 | 28 | 38 |
| Jaromir Jagr, RW | 30 | 12 | 21 | 32 |
| Larry Murphy, D | 30 | 6 | 25 | 31 |
| Shawn McEachern, LW | 30 | 15 | 12 | 27 |
| Joe Mullen, RW | 18 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| Ulf Samuelsson, D | 26 | 2 | 12 | 14 |
| Paul Stanton, D | 28 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Mike Needham, RW | 27 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Jim Paek, D | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Mike Stapleton, C | 30 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Dave Tippett, C | 23 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Jeff Daniels, LW | 30 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Bryan Fogarty, D | 12 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Kjell Samuelsson, D | 26 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Troy Loney, LW | 27 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Bob Errey, LW | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Martin Straka, C | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Ahola, D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grant Jennings, D | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jamie Leach, RW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jay Caufield, RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Also in the news that day:
-Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins set and NBA record by making 23 free throws wihout a miss in a 123-114 win against the Chicago Bulls at the Omni in Atlanta.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)