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The 1992 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Prince of Wales Conference and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were making their first appearance in the Final since 1972–73. After the Blackhawks jumped to an early 4–1 lead in Game 1, Mario Lemieux and the Penguins came back to win the game, sweep the series in four games, and win their second straight and second overall Stanley Cup. It was the 99th year of the Stanley Cup. It was the last final for Chicago Stadium as it closed in 1994.
Contents |
Road to the Final[edit]
Pittsburgh defeated the Washington Capitals 4–3, the New York Rangers 4–2, and the Boston Bruins 4–0.
Chicago had to defeat two of their biggest rivals, first the St. Louis Blues 4–2, then their long-time Original Six rival Detroit Red Wings 4–0, and the Edmonton Oilers 4–0.
Chicago set an NHL playoff record in winning 11 games in a row to reach the finals. Pittsburgh had won seven in a row entering the finals and swept Chicago in four games to tie Chicago's record. Pittsburgh then extended the playoff winning streak record to 14 with wins in the first three games against the New Jersey Devils in the following season's first playoff round.
The series[edit]
The Penguins were led by captain Mario Lemieux, coach Scotty Bowman, and goaltender Tom Barrasso. The Blackhawks were led by captain Dirk Graham, coach Mike Keenan, and goaltender Ed Belfour. They also made history in having the first Russian born player to have a chance to get their name on the Stanley Cup in Igor Kravchuk.[2]
Mario Lemieux captured a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for the second consecutive year, becoming only the second player in NHL history to do so.
Game four was the first NHL game played in the month of June.
| Tue, May 26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | ||||
| Thu, May 28 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–1 | Chicago Blackhawks | Pittsburgh Civic Arena | ||||
| Sat, May 30 | Chicago Blackhawks | 0–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| Mon, June 1 | Chicago Blackhawks | 5–6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| Pittsburgh wins series 4–0 and Stanley Cup | |
Pittsburgh Penguins – 1992 Stanley Cup champions[edit]
Roster
- 66 Mario Lemieux (Captain)
- 10 Ron Francis
- 15 Shawn McEachern
- 18 Ken Priestlay*
- 19 Bryan Trottier(A)
- 38 Jiri Hrdina
- 7 Joe Mullen
- 12 Bob Errey(A)
- 14 Jock Callander
- 16 Jay Caufield
- 20 Jamie Leach
- 24 Troy Loney
- 25 Kevin Stevens
- 29 Phil Bourque
- 34 Dave Michayluk
- 43 Jeff Daniels*
- 45 Mike Needham*
- 68 Jaromir Jagr
- 92 Rick Tocchet
- 2 Jim Paek
- 3 Grant Jennings
- 5 Ulf Samuelsson
- 6 Jeff Chychrun
- 22 Paul Stanton
- 23 Kjell Samuelsson
- 28 Gordie Roberts
- 32 Peter Taglianetti
- 55 Larry Murphy
- * Mike Needham did not play in any regular season games for Pittsburgh (played in the minors), but played in 5 playoff games (not in the Finals). Jeff Daniels played in 2 regular season games for Pittsburgh, and spent the rest of the season in the minors. Their names were engraved on the Stanley Cup, even though they did not qualify. Ken Priestlay played in 49 regular season games, but was playing in the minors during the playoffs. Priestlay was also included on the Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh included a record 31 players on the Stanley Cup in 1992.
- Coaching and administrative staff
- Morris Belzberg (Owner), Howard Baldwin Sr. (Owner/President), Thomas Ruta (Owner)
- Donn Patton (Vice President-Chief Financial Officer), J. Paul Martha (Vice President-General Council)
- Craig Patrick (Vice President/General Manager)
- Bob Johnson (Coach), William Scotty Bowman (Head Coach/Director of Player Development-Recruitment), Barry Smith (Asst. Coach), Rick Kehoe (Asst. Coach)
- Pierre McGuire (Asst. Coach), Gilles Meloche (Goaltending Coach/Scout), Rick Paterson (Asst. Coach)
- Steve Latin (Equipment Manager), Charles "Skip" Thayer (Trainer), John Welday (Strength-Conditioning Coach), Greg Malone (Head Scout)
- Les Binkley (Scout), Charlie Hodge (Scout), John Gill (Scout), Ralph Cox (Scout)
Stanley Cup engraving
Bob Johnson died on November 26, 1991 of cancer. The NHL allowed his name to be included with the 1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pierre McGuire, Les Binkley, John Gill, Charlie Hodge, Ralph Cox were with the team as Scouts in 1990–91, but names were not included on the Stanley Cup that year. All five members have two Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh.
Aftermath[edit]
The Penguins and Blackhawks met again in the Stanley Cup Finals three years later. However, it would be on the big screen in the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Sudden Death.
The Chicago Bulls were in the NBA Finals during this series, making 1992 the only year that the city of Chicago would host a concurrent NBA/NHL Finals series.
Another 18 years would pass before the Blackhawks returned to the Stanley Cup Finals, this time defeating the Penguins' in-state arch-rivals, Philadelphia Flyers, in six games. It would be the first Finals to be played in the United Center, where the Blackhawks moved in the 1994–95 NHL season. The year before, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup at the expense of the Blackhawks' arch-rival Detroit Red Wings, exacting revenge from their 2008 defeat.
Following their Cup win, the Penguins modernized their logo and uniforms. However, the 'Robo-Penguin' logo wasn't as universally received as the 'Skating Penguin' and was gradually phased out between 2001 and 2007, being replaced by the updated 'Skating Penguin' logo featuring a Vegas gold triangle. On the ice, the Penguins won a league record 17 straight games en route to the Presidents' Trophy in the 1992–93 season, despite Mario Lemieux missing much of the season to Hodgkin's lymphoma. However they lost in the conference semifinals to the New York Islanders. The Penguins stayed competitive for the remainder of the 1990s, despite the retirement of Lemieux, but mounting debt forced the team to declare bankruptcy and in 2000, Lemieux purchased the club and later returned to play for another five-year stint. The Penguins rebuilt during the first half of the 2000s, before Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury led the team to the 2009 Stanley Cup.
Chicago's goaltending tandem of Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek would later play against each other in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals as members of the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres respectively. The series, won by Dallas in six games, was overshadowed by Brett Hull's controversial series-clinching goal past Hasek in Game 6.
See also[edit]
- 1991–92 NHL season
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1991–92 Chicago Blackhawks season
- 1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins season
Notes[edit]
- ^ Grupp, John (May 6, 2009). "Anthem singer fires up Mellon crowd". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ First Russians win Cup - Because It's The Cup on YouTube
References[edit]
- Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp. 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
- NHL (1991). National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 1991–92.
| Preceded by Pittsburgh Penguins 1991 |
Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Champions 1992 |
Succeeded by Montreal Canadiens 1993 |
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