On This Date in Sports May 25, 1991: Penguins First Cup
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Pittsburgh Penguins win their first Stanley Cup, beating the Minnesota North Stars 8-0 in Game 6 at the Met Center in Bloomington. It was the first All-American Stanley Cup Final in a decade, as the Penguins ending Canada's seven-year lock on hockey's Holy Grail. The Penguins get eight goals from seven players as Joe Mullen scored twice. Mario Lemieux would win the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.
After six years, Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins were finally ready for primetime. The Penguins had only made the playoffs once in Mario's first six years. After reaching the Patrick Division Finals in 1989, the Penguins suffered a setback in 1990 and missed the postseason. With Badger Bob Johnson taking over as coach in Pittsburgh, the Penguins, also boosted by rookie Jaromir Jagr finished first in the Patrick Division with a record of 41-33-6. The Penguins were pushed to the brink by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, needing seven games to reach the Division Finals. From there, they beat the Washington Capitals in five games to reach the Wales Conference Final. The Penguins stunned the Boston Bruins in six games to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time. The series was marked by a controversial hit by Ulf Samuelsson on Cam Neely that severely injured the Bruins leading scorer.
The Minnesota North Stars began the season as a team in turmoil. In 1978 the North Stars nearly folded as they merged with the Cleveland Barons to stay afloat. That partnership broke apart with the coming addition of the San Jose Sharks. The North Stars, coached by Bob Gainey, snuck into the playoffs with a record of 27-39-14. From there, they went on a classic Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals. The run began when they took down the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Chicago had won the President's Trophy as the best team in the regular season. The St. Louis Blues finished one point behind Chicago and also went down in six games. In the Conference Finals, the North Stars ended the nine-year reign of the Smythe Division, upsetting the defending Stanley Cup Champion Edmonton Oilers in five games, as Mark Messier played his final games with the Oilers.
The opener of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh was a thriller as the North Stars outgunned the Penguins 5-4, with Neal Broten scoring a pair of goals to lead the way. Pittsburgh rebounded with a 4-1 win in Game 2 as Kevin Stevens scored twice to lead the way. In Minnesota for Game 3, the Penguins got bad news as Mario Lemieux was unable to play with a sore back. The Stars took full advantage, winning 3-1 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Mario Lemieux returned for Game 4, as the Penguins again evened the series with a 5-3 win. Lemieux was part of a three-goal first period for Pittsburgh as he and Ron Francis scored 22 seconds apart. Back in Pittsburgh for Game 5, the Penguins offense continued to click in a 6-4 win that turned the series in their favor. Mark Recchi led the way with a pair of goals in the first period as the Penguins again started fast with an early 4-0 lead. Game 6 was all Penguins as they won 8-0 as midnight had clearly come for Minnesota. Mario Lemieux had 12 points, including four goals in the series, despite missing one game with a back injury, top claim the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP.