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).
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