Break It Down: Drink from the Cup

Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins have hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup for a fifth time, we thought we’d look back and break down the Pens’ quintet of championship runs — stats, dates and more (including, always, beating the Capitals).
Sean Collier,


Photo: Shutterstock

The only thing left to do now is finally win a cup on home ice; maybe next year? In the meantime, consider this:

  • The Pirates, Penguins and Steelers each have at least five championships. (The Pirates and Pens have five; the Steelers have six.)
     
  • The Penguins have never won a Stanley Cup without defeating the Washington Capitals in a playoff round.
     
  • Marc-Andre Fleury and Matt Murray combined for a .929 save percentage in the 2017 playoffs; that mark is higher than any of the Pens’ prior cup-winning goalies.
     
  • Only three players in NHL history have won back-to-back Conn Smythe trophies; two of those repeat playoff MVPs are Penguins (Lemieux and Crosby).
     
  • The Penguins have only competed against American teams in Stanley Cup Finals.
     
  • The overall scoring in the Penguins’ cup-winning games: Pittsburgh 21, Opponents 7.
     

 

1991

Winning Game
Game 6, May 25, 1991: Pittsburgh 8, Minnesota 0

Road to the Cup
Pens Defeat New Jersey, 4-3; Washington, 4-1; Boston, 4-2; Minnesota, 4-2 (24 Games)

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
Mario Lemieux

Playoff Goals Leader
Kevin Stevens (17)

Playoff Points Leader
Mario Lemieux (44)

Cup-Winning Goaltender
Tom Barrasso (12-7 Record, .919 Save %)

Cup-Winning Goal
Ulf Samuelsson, 2:00 of the First Period

Subsequent Season Result
Won Stanley Cup
 

 

1992

Winning Game
Game 4, June 1, 1992: Pittsburgh 6, Chicago 5

Road to the Cup
Pens Defeat Washington, 4-3; New York Rangers, 4-2; Boston, 4-0; Chicago, 4-0 (21 Games)

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
Mario Lemieux

Playoff Goals Leader
Mario Lemieux (16)

Playoff Points Leader
Mario Lemieux (34)

Cup-Winning Goaltender
Tom Barrasso (16-5 Record, .907 Save %)

Cup-Winning Goal
Ron Francis, 7:59 of the Third Period

Subsequent Season Result
Eliminated, 4-3, by New York Islanders in Division Finals
 

 

2009

Winning Game
Game 7, June 12, 2009: Pittsburgh 2, Detroit 1

Road to the Cup
Pens Defeat Philadelphia, 4-2; Washington, 4-3; Carolina, 4-0; Detroit, 4-3 (24 Games)

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
Evgeni Malkin

Playoff Goals Leader
Sidney Crosby (15)

Playoff Points Leader
Evgeni Malkin (36)

Cup-Winning Goaltender
Marc-Andre Fleury (16-8 Record, .908 Save %)

Cup-Winning Goal
Max Talbot, 10:07 of the Second Period

Subsequent Season Result
Eliminated, 4-3, by Montreal in Conference Semi-Finals
 

 

2016

Winning Game
Game 6, June 12, 2016: Pittsburgh 3, San Jose 1

Road to the Cup
Pens Defeat New York Rangers, 4-1; Washington, 4-2; Tampa Bay, 4-3; San Jose, 4-2 (24 Games)

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
Sidney Crosby

Playoff Goals Leader
Joe Pavelski (San Jose) (14)

Playoff Points Leader
Logan Couture (San Jose) (30)

Cup-Winning Goaltender
Matt Murray (15-6 Record, .923 Save %)

Cup-Winning Goal
Kris Letang, 7:46 of the Second Period

Subsequent Season Result
Won Stanley Cup
 


photo by dave dicello
 

2017

Winning Game
Game 6, June 11, 2017: Pittsburgh 2, Nashville 0

Road to the Cup
Pens Defeat Columbus, 4-1; Washington, 4-3; Ottawa, 4-3; Nashville, 4-2 (25 Games)

Conn Smythe Trophy Winner
Sidney Crosby

Playoff Goals Leader
Jake Guentzel (13)

Playoff Points Leader
Evgeni Malkin (28)

Cup-Winning Goaltender
Matt Murray (7-3 Record, .937 Save %)

Cup-Winning Goal
Patric Hornqvist, 18:25 of the Third Period

Subsequent Season Result
To Be Determined
 

This article appears in the August 2017 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.
Categories: Penguins

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