1992 Stanley Cup Finals

In the opening game of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame deficits of 3–0 in the first period and 4–1 halfway through the second period to win by a score of 5–4. This was the first victory from a three-goal deficit in the Finals since 1944

Six minutes into the game, the Blackhawks' forecheck drew a penalty against Pittsburgh. Right off the subsequent face-off, Chris Chelios scored the first goal of the Stanley Cup Finals on a wrist shot. After surviving a Pittsburgh powerplay, the Blackhawks' aggressive offensive-zone strategy would lead to two more Blackhawks goals within a 26-second window. First, Michel Goulet converted a takeaway on the boards in the Penguins' zone to make it 2–0, then Dirk Graham scored on a rebound with the shot by Chelios. Pittsburgh got on the board after Igor Kravchuk got penalized for holding and Phil Bourque scored on a wraparound after Blackhawks goalkeeper Ed Belfour lost his stick. Chicago subsequently extended their lead to 4–1 via a two-on-one breakaway from Steve Larmer to Brent Sutter, who beat Tom Barrasso under his left leg. Just as their powerplay from Chicago's too-many-men penalty expired, Rick Tocchet deflected a shot from Paul Stanton into the Chicago net. Then, on the Penguins' next rush, Kevin Stevens drew several Blackhawks on him, which gave Mario Lemieux room to bank the puck off the Ed Belfour's leg, decreasing the deficit to 4–3. After fifteen minutes in the third, the Penguins would equalize the score. Aided by a pick on a Pittsburgh defender by Shawn McEachern, Jaromir Jagr deked around three Penguins, charging into the crease starting from the boards, and beat Belfour on a backhand shot to tie the game at 4–4 with 4:55 remaining in the third period. After both Mike Hudson for the Blackhawks and Lemieux for the Penguins drew penalties while charging the offensive zone against two opposing defenders, almost exactly two minutes apart, the game seemed poised to go into overtime with Pittsburgh playing with a one-man advantage. However, on an offensive-zone face-off to start the Pittsburgh powerplay, Mario Lemieux charged the Blackhawks' net from the weak side and put a rebound off a shot by Larry Murphy past Belfour. Pittsburgh's first lead of the game thus came with thirteen seconds remaining in the game. The Penguins held off the Blackhawks to win game one, 5–4.[4]

In game two, nearly ten minutes into the game, Bob Errey scored the first goal for Pittsburgh shorthanded. In the second period, after denying Lemieux his scoring chance, Bryan Marchment trailed the subsequent play into the Pittsburgh zone and then won a physical battle against Larry Murphy. On a seemingly broken play he put the puck past Tom Barrasso into the Pittsburgh goal to tie the game at 1–1. However, Marchment was called for an elbow check and Mario Lemieux scored on a one timer set up by Rick Tocchet, 43 seconds into the ensuing powerplay. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Brian Marchment, who had been the catalyst for Chicago's lone goal, was beaten on the boards by Rick Tocchet. Tocchet again fed Lemieux in the slot, and another one timer extended the Pittsburgh lead to 3–1. The Penguins then limited the Blackhawks shots to four in the third period to take Game 2 3–1.[5]

In game three, the Blackhawks put up more offensive pressure on the Penguins. Pittsburgh's goalie instead shut out the Blackhawks stopping all 27 shots in the three periods. The lone goal came from Kevin Stevens putting his team into a 3–0 series lead.[6]

After the series saw a total of just one goal over the course of 86 minutes of hockey spanning from the second period of game two to the early moments of game four, the two teams erupted for an eleven-goal outburst in game foir. There were four goals scored in the first seven minutes of the game, and five in the first eleven, with the first period ending with a score of 3–3. The lasting image of the opening stanza was perhaps the sea of hats on the ice after Blackhawks captain Dirk Graham recorded a hat trick by accounting for all three of Chicago's goals. Pittsburgh's goals were scored by Jaromir Jagr after Ed Belfour turned over the puck behind his goal; by Kevin Stevens on a one-handed backhand wrist shot that was deemed "stoppable" by TV analyst Bill Clement (and sparked the change in goal);[7] and by Mario Lemieux on a rebound off a shot from Larry Murphy, which had been set up by Lemieux. Graham scored his hat trick to answer each of these goals on a rebound off his own backhand shot and two one-timers after he was left alone at the Pittsburgh crease in both instances. There were two goals scored in the second period – one on each side – to make the score 4–4. Pittsburgh's tally came just 58 seconds into the period, when Rick Tocchet was left alone after the Blackhawks neglected to defend the area near the crease. With less than five minutes to go in the second period, the Blackhawks immediately scored a goal to tie the game for the fourth time, when Jeremy Roenick deflected a shot by Brian Noonan off Murphy's leg. The proverbial floodgates would, however, open almost exactly five minutes into the final period, when the Penguins scored twice in just over three minutes. At first, a shoulder check by Mario Lemieux against Chris Chelios behind the Chicago goal set up a wrist shot by Larry Murphy through traffic, which went past Hasek for a 5–4 Pittsburgh lead. Then Ron Francis converted a slapshot in a two-on-one situation to give Pittsburgh its first two-goal lead of the game. Chicago would come closer once more, when Jeremy Roenick scored at the 11:18 mark to make it 6–5 Pittsburgh after Larry Murphy tripped behind his own goal, just over three minutes after the second Pittsburgh goal of the period. Just a minute later, Chris Chelios hit the goal post, and the Roenick-Chelios pair would also sustain pressure in the final minute of the game with Chicago playing with an empty net. Overall however, Pittsburgh still controlled most stretches of these final eight minutes, as they didn't have trouble getting out of their zone. Pittsburgh finished the game 6–5 earning their second Stanley Cup. Mario Lemieux was given the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.[8]

• Mike Needham* did not play in any regular-season games for Pittsburgh (played in the minors), but played in five playoff games (one playoff game in the conference finals, but not in the Finals). His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, even though he did not qualify.
• Jeff Daniels* played in two regular-season games for Pittsburgh, spent the rest of the regular season in the minors, but was recalled during the playoffs. His name was also engraved on the Stanley Cup, even though he did not qualify.
• Ken Priestlay† played in 49 regular-season games and was sent to the minors at the trade deadline, but rejoined the team late in the playoffs. Priestley was also included on the Stanley Cup even though he played in the minors during the playoffs. Pittsburgh included a record 31 players on the Stanley Cup in 1992.
• Bob Johnson, head coach of the Penguins in the 1990–91 season and for their 1991 championship, died on November 26, 1991, of cancer. The NHL allowed the 1991–92 Penguins to have his name engraved on the Cup.
• Pittsburgh included all 52 names with full first and last name. For the first time since engraving became an annual event in 1923-24 none of non-playing members were included on with a position. The only position listed was Mario Lemieux Capt.

Pierre McGuire, Les Binkley, John Gill, Charlie Hodge, Ralph Cox were with the team as Scouts in 1990–91, but names were not included on the Stanley Cup that year. All five members have two Stanley Cup rings with Pittsburgh. Team Doctor Charles Burke won cups with Pittsburgh in 1991 and 1992, but his name was left off the Stanley Cup.

• 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins filled the last spot on the shoulder of the Stanley Cup. No winning team name since has been added to the Stanley Cup shoulder.
• Since the last larger ring was filled in 1991. The NHL decided to remove the top ring with winning teams from 1928 to 1940 and retire it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. A new blank ring was added at the bottom to include the 1992 Pittsburgh Penguins team members. NHL decided to keep the Stanley Cup the same size and shape 34 1/2 inches tall and 35 1/2 pounds. This way the cup does not get too big, and it remains the same size/shape that hockey fans are used to. It also encourages more fans to go to Toronto and see all the names on the retired rings at the Hockey Hall of Fame.