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 2009, 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 also the last time that an NHL franchise would appear in the finals prior to relocation.
Paths to the Final
- For more details on this topic, see 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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. 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.
| May 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4 - 5 | Minnesota North Stars | Mellon Arena | ||||
| May 17 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4 – 1 | Minnesota North Stars | Mellon Arena | ||||
| May 19 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 – 1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Met Center | ||||
| May 21 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 – 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Met Center | ||||
| May 23 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 6 – 4 | Minnesota North Stars | Mellon Arena | ||||
| May 25 | Minnesota North Stars | 0 – 8 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Met Center | ||||
Pittsburgh Penguins 1991 Stanley Cup champions
Roster
- Centers
- 66 Mario Lemieux (Captain)
- 9 Ron Francis
- 10 Barry Pederson
- 15 Randy Gilhen
- 19 Bryan Trottier
- 38 Jiri Hrdina
- 18 Ken Priestlay†
- Wingers
- 7 Joe Mullen
- 8 Mark Recchi
- 12 Bob Errey (A. Capt.) (also played center)
- 16 Jay Caufield#
- 24 Troy Loney
- 25 Kevin Stevens
- 29 Phil Bourque
- 34 Scott Young (also played center)
- 68 Jaromir Jagr
- 18 Jeff Daniels†
- 20 Jamie Leach†
- Defensemen
- 2 Jim Paek
- 3 Grant Jennings
- 5 Ulf Samuelsson
- 22 Paul Stanton
- 23 Randy Hillier (A. Capt.)
- 28 Gordie Roberts
- 32 Peter Taglianetti
- 55 Larry Murphy
- 77 Paul Coffey (A. Capt.)
- 5 Gord Dineen†
- Goaltenders
- 1 Wendell Young
- 35 Tom Barrasso
- 40 Frank Pietrangelo
- 44 Bruce Racine†† (dressed for 4 playoff games, did not play)
- †† Goalie Wendell Young missed the first three rounds with an injury. Tom Barrasso also missed the last two games of Round 1 and first two games of Round 2 while injured. Bruce Racine was called up from the minors to serve as back-up to Frank Pietrangelo. Racine's name was left off the Stanley Cup because he had not played in the NHL – in fact, Racine never played for Pittsburgh. His only NHL experience came in 1995–96 for the St. Louis Blues. Racine was included in the team picture, and does have a 1991 Stanley Cup ring.
- † 4 more players were included on the 1991 Stanley Cup picture, but were not engraved on the Cup. They did not play in the playoffs or qualify to be on the Cup.
- Non-players
- Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. (Chairman/Owner)
- Marie Denise DeBartolo York (President/Owner)
- Paul Martha (Vice President), Craig Patrick (Vice President/General Manager)
- Scotty Bowman (Director of Player Development-Recruitment), Bob Johnson (Head Coach)
- Rick Kehoe, Rick Paterson, Barry Smith (Ass't Coaches)
- Gilles Meloche (Goaltending Coach/Scout)
- Steve Latin (Equipment Manager), Skip Thayer (Trainer)
- John Welday (Strength-Conditioning Coach), Greg Malone (Head Scout)
Stanley Cup Engraving
- Bob Johnson became the second American-born head coach to win the Stanley Cup. Bill Stewart was the first in 1938 with the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Jay Caufield spent the whole 1990–91 season with Pittsburgh. He played only 23 regular season games and did not dress in the playoffs. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup due to the team's petition, even though he did not qualify.
References
- (2000) Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 50. ISBN 1–55168–261–3.
| Preceded by Edmonton Oilers 1990 |
Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Champions 1991 |
Succeeded by Pittsburgh Penguins 1992 |
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