1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 198889 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the Penguins finish in second place in the Patrick Division with a record of 40 wins, 33 losses, and 7 ties for 87 points. They swept the New York Rangers in the Division Semi-finals before losing the Division Finals in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.

1988–89 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division2nd Patrick
Conference4th Wales
1988–89 record40–33–7
Home record24–13–3
Road record16–20–4
Goals for347
Goals against349
Team information
General managerTony Esposito
CoachGene Ubriaco
CaptainMario Lemieux
Alternate captainsPaul Coffey
Randy Cunneyworth
ArenaPittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
GoalsMario Lemieux (85)
AssistsMario Lemieux (114)
PointsMario Lemieux (199)
Penalty minutesJay Caufield (285)
WinsTom Barrasso (18)
Goals against averageTom Barrasso and
Frank Pietrangelo (4.04)

Regular season

This was Mario Lemieux's best season offensively. He led the league in goals (85), assists (114, tied with Wayne Gretzky), points (199), power-play goals (31) and shorthanded goals (13).

The Penguins finished the regular season with the most power-play opportunities against, with 482, the most power-play opportunities, with 491, and the most power-play goals scored, with 119.[1]

Highlights

  • December 31, 1988 – Mario Lemieux scores five goals in an 8–6 win over the New Jersey Devils. Lemieux scores the five goals in five different ways: even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, and empty net.

Season standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Washington Capitals8041291030525992
Pittsburgh Penguins804033734734987
New York Rangers803735831030782
Philadelphia Flyers803636830728580
New Jersey Devils8027411228132566
New York Islanders802847526532561

[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

On January 4, 1989, the Penguins defeated the Red Army team 4–2 at the Civic Arena in an exhibition.

1988–89 Schedule
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

After six frustrating and disappointing seasons, the Penguins finally managed to get into the playoffs for the first time since the 1981–82 season. They swept New York Rangers in the Semifinals, but lost to their rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games.

Playoff log

1989 Stanley Cup playoffs
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Playoff series win

Player statistics

Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season[5]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Tom Barrasso442406:21181571624.0414410.88800549
Wendell Young221150:181290924.806730.8630024
Steve Guenette11573:53560414.293080.8670010
Frank Pietrangelo15669:20530454.034080.8900002
Rick Tabaracci133:0500047.25210.8100002
Total4832:57403373444.2728510.87900857
Playoffs[6]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Tom Barrasso11631:10740403.803880.8970018
Wendell Young138:3800011.55110.9090000
Total669:48740413.683990.8970018

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

  • Paul Coffey, Defence, NHL First All-Star Team
  • Mario Lemieux, Center, NHL First All-Star Team
  • Mario Lemieux, Art Ross Trophy
  • Mario Lemieux, Center, NHL First All-Star Team
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 100 assists in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–8 loss to Hartford on February 26.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 170 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–3 loss to Los Angeles on March 7.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 180 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–8 loss to Boston on March 14.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 110 assists in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 2–7 loss to Minnesota on March 20.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 190 points in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–4 win over New York on March 27.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 80 goals in a season for the Penguins. He did so in a 5–9 loss to Hartford on March 30.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 400 assists for the Penguins. He did so in a 6–8 loss to Hartford on February 26.
  • Mario Lemieux became the first person to score 700 points for the Penguins. He did so in a 4–5 loss to Washington on March 22.
  • Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for goals (85), assists (114) and points (199) in a season. He had set all three records the previous season.
  • Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for assists (415) and points (715). He broke the previous records of 349 assists (Syl Apps Jr.) and 636 points (Rick Kehoe)
  • Paul Coffey established a new franchise record for goals (30), assists (83) and points (113) in a season by a defenseman. He broke the records of 16 goals, 67 assists and 83 points all set by Randy Carlyle in 1981.
  • Rod Buskas established a new franchise record for penalty minutes (946). He broke the previous records of 871 PIM held by Bryan Watson.
  • Mario Lemieux established a new franchise record for highest plus-minus in a season (+41). He broke the previous high of +36 set by Lowell MacDonald in 1973.
  • Mario Lemieux, NHL Record, Most Shorthanded Goals, One Season (13) [7]

Transactions

Trades

September 1, 1988 To Philadelphia Flyers

1990 3rd round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Wendell Young
1990 7th round pick

October 3, 1988 To Buffalo Sabres

Wayne Van Dorp

To Pittsburgh Penguins

1990 7th round pick

November 1, 1988 To Minnesota North Stars

rights to Rob Gaudreau

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Richard Zemlak

November 12, 1988 To Buffalo Sabres

Doug Bodger
Darrin Shannon

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Tom Barrasso
1990 3rd round pick

December 17, 1988 To Minnesota North Stars

Steve Gotaas
Ville Siren

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Scott Bjugstad
Gord Dineen

January 9, 1989 To Calgary Flames

Steve Guenette

To Pittsburgh Penguins

1989 6th round pick

March 6, 1989 To Los Angeles Kings

Pat Mayer

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Tim Tookey

Player signings

PlayerDateContract terms
John CullenJune 21, 1988Unknown
Mark RecchiAugust 17, 1988Multi-year contract
Steve GuenetteAugust 29, 1988Multi-year contract
Darrin ShannonSeptember 7, 1988Multi-year contract
Bruce RacineSeptember 21, 1988Multi-year contract
Mario LemieuxNovember 1, 19881 year/$1.6 million
Dan QuinnNovember 5, 1988Multi-year contract
Jamie LeachMarch 22, 1989Multi-year contract
Dave MichaylukMay 24, 1989Unknown

Other

PlayerDateDetails
Pierre CreamerJune 14, 1988Replaced as head coach
Gene UbriacoJune 28, 1988Hired as head coach
Dave HunterOctober 3, 1988Sent to Oilers as compensation for claiming Dave Hannan in waiver draft

Roster

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
35 Tom Barrasso G R 24 1983 Boston, Massachusetts
27 Barry Bjugstad LW L 27 1981 St. Paul, Minnesota
29 Phil Bourque LW L 26 Undrafted Chelmsford, Massachusetts
44 Robert Brown RW L 21 1986 Kingston, Ontario
7 Rod Buskas D R 28 1981 Wetaskiwin, Alberta
14 Jock Callander RW R 28 Undrafted Regina, Saskatchewan
16 Jay Caufield RW R 28 Undrafted Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
77 Paul Coffey (A) D L 27 1980 Weston, Ontario
11 John Cullen C R 24 1986 Puslinch, Ontario
15 Randy Cunneyworth (A) LW L 28 1980 Etobicoke, Ontario
4 Christopher Dahlquist D L 26 Undrafted Fridley, Minnesota
5 Gordon Dineen D R 26 1981 Quebec City, Quebec
22 Steve Dykstra LW R 26 Undrafted Edmonton, Alberta
12 Bob Errey LW L 24 1983 Montreal, Quebec
28 William Frawley RW R 26 1980 Sturgeon Falls, Ontario
20 Perry Ganchar RW R 25 1982 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
30 Steve Guenette G L 23 Undrafted Gloucester, Ontario
32 David Hannan C L 27 1981 Sudbury, Ontario
23 Randy Hillier D L 29 1980 Toronto, Ontario
6 James Johnson D L 26 Undrafted New Hope, Minnesota
26 Mark Kachowski LW L 24 Undrafted Edmonton, Alberta
66 Mario Lemieux (C) C R 23 1984 Montreal, Quebec
24 Troy Loney LW L 25 1982 Bow Island, Alberta
19 Dave McLlwain C L 21 1986 Seaforth, Ontario
40 Frank Pietrangelo G L 24 1983 Niagara Falls, Ontario
10 Dan Quinn C L 23 1983 Ottawa, Ontario
8 Mark Recchi RW L 21 1988 Kamloops, British Columbia
25 Kevin Stevens LW L 24 1983 Brockton, Massachusetts
31 Richard Tabaracci G L 20 1987 Toronto, Ontario
1 Wendell Young G L 25 1981 Halifax, Nova Scotia
33 Zarley Zalapski D L 21 1986 Edmonton, Alberta
18 Richard Zemlak C R 26 1981 Wynyard, Saskatchewan

Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.[8]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
14Darrin ShannonL CanadaWindsor Compuware Spitfires (OHL)
225Mark MajorL CanadaNorth Bay Centennials (OHL)
362[a]Daniel GauthierL CanadaVictoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
467Mark RecchiR CanadaKamloops Blazers (WHL)
588Greg AndrusakD CanadaU. of Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA)
7130Troy MickL CanadaPortland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8151Jeffrey BlaeserL United StatesSt. John's Prep (Mass H.S.)
9172Robert GaudreauC United StatesBishop Hendricken H.S. (RI)
10193Donald PancoeL CanadaHamilton Steelhawks (OHL)
11214Cory LaylinL United StatesSt. Cloud Apollo H.S. (Minn.)
12235Darren StolkD CanadaLethbridge Broncos (WHL)
S4Paul PolilloC CanadaWestern Michigan University (CCHA)
S9Shawn LillieC CanadaColgate University (ECAC)
Draft notes[9]

References

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