1991 Stanley Cup Finals

1991 Stanley Cup Finals
Teams 1 2 3 4 5 6 Games Pittsburgh Penguins  4 4 1 5 6 8 4 Minnesota North Stars  5 1 3 3 4 0 2
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh Civic Arena) (1,2,5) Bloomington, MN (Met Center) (3,4,6) Format: Best-of-seven Coaches: Pittsburgh: Bob Johnson Minnesota: Bob Gainey Captains: Pittsburgh: Mario Lemieux Minnesota: Curt Giles Dates: May 15 to May 25 MVP: Mario Lemieux Series-winning goal: Ulf Samuelsson (2:00, first)
< 1990 Stanley Cup Finals 1992 >

The 1991 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars. It was the Penguins' first Final series appearance and their first Stanley Cup victory. As of 2011, this is the first and only Stanley Cup Final to feature two teams from the expansion group of 1967. It was Minnesota's second Final series appearance. It is the last time that an NHL franchise would appear in the finals prior to relocation. It is also the first time since 1983 that an American franchise would win the Stanley Cup. This is the first all American finals since 1981, the only previous time the North Stars made the finals.

This was also the first final since 1982 not to feature either the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers, and the first since 1981 not contested by a team from Western Canada.

Road to the Final

Minnesota defeated the first-place overall Chicago Blackhawks 4–2, the second-place overall St. Louis Blues 4–2, and the defending cup champion Edmonton Oilers 4–1 to advance to the Final. The North Stars became the first American team and first Norris Division team to win the Campbell Conference since the league re-aligned the divisions and adopted a divisional-based playoff format in 1981.

Pittsburgh defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3, the Washington Capitals 4–1 and the Boston Bruins 4–2.

The series

Pittsburgh center Mario Lemieux, despite missing a game due to a back injury, recorded 12 points in 5 games to lead all scorers, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy. One of the most famous goals in NHL history was the goal he made in the 2nd period of the 2nd game. Receiving the puck between the Penguins blue line and the center line, Lemieux skated solo into the North Stars zone facing 2 defensemen and the goalie by himself. Mario skirted the puck through one of the defenders legs, skated around him, forced the goalie to commit left, then switched the puck to his backand side and sliding the puck in before crashing into the net himself. The brief video of the goal has been since featured on recent Stanley Cup promo ads by the NHL.

Game Scores

Pittsburgh Penguins - 1991 Stanley Cup champions

Roster

Stanley Cup engraving

• Jay Caufield* played only 23 games. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, because he spent the whole season with Pittsburgh.

• † Ken Priestley, Jamie Leach, Gord Dineen were included on the team, and have Stanley Cup Rings. They did not play enough regular season games, or in the playoffs to qualify to win the Stanley Cup.

• †† Gord Dineen missed the whole season due to car accident in the off season. Dineen was still included on the team picture, and has a Stanley Cup Ring.

• ††† Bruce Racine was called up from the minors to serve as back-up to Frank Pietrangelo. He was dressed for last 2 games of round 1, and first 2 games of round 2. Both Wendell Young (who missed first 3 rounds injured), and Tom Barrasso (missed 4 games injured) were unable to play. Racine name was left off the Stanley Cup, because he had not play in the NHL - in fact, Racine's never played for Pittsburgh. His only NHL experience came in 1995-96 for the St. Louis Blues. Racine was included on team picture, and has a Stanley Cup Ring.

• 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.

See also

• 1990–91 NHL season
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars season
• 1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins season

References

• Total Stanley Cup. NHL. 2000. 
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont: Fenn Pub. pp. 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7. 

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