The year 1991 was one that helped to usher in a changing world. As the Cold War was coming to an end, the international community was cooperating in new and different ways. As much of the world united in a war against Iraq early in the year, the sporting world was also seeing new heroes emerge and become victorious. Michael Jordan won his first NBA Championship with the Bulls in June, and the month before that, on May 25, 1991, Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins triumphed in an 8-0 romp in game 6 against the Minnesota North Stars to win their first Stanley Cup.
The goaltending match-up to start the game that night in Bloomington, Minnesota pitted Tom Barrasso of the Penguins against Jon Casey of the North Stars. Bob Gainey was the coach of the North Stars, and Badger Bob Johnson was the bench boss for Pittsburgh, who brought a 3-2 series lead in to the game.
As the puck dropped to start the game, the North Stars started off very aggressively. They took the puck into Pittsburgh’s end and stormed Barrasso, resulting in a scrum and an interference penalty to Neal Broten. Ulf Samuelsson capitalized on the power play scoring on a shot from the point to make the score 1-0 for Pittsburgh. The North Stars continued their physical play, with players like Shane Churla and Basil McRae making their presence known with some big hitting. But the Penguins were not deterred, as they answered with some physical play of their own. As each team took some penalties and the North Stars had a 4-3 man advantage on the ice, Larry Murphy fed Mario Lemieux who went in on a breakaway and made a beautiful move on Jon Casey to put the Penguins up 2-0.
The year did not start well for Lemieux, as he required surgery on his back and missed the first 50 games. He did get heathy and return towards the end of the regular season, just in time to get warmed up and dominate the playoffs. The Penguins season followed a similar trajectory, as they took the Patrick Division with 88 points, but did not finish in the top 5 of the league. However, with Lemieux in the line-up, and trades to bring in players like Ron Francis, the Penguins caught fire at just the right time.
Joe Mullen closed out the first period scoring to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead heading in to the intermission. As the second period began, Gainey made a move in goal to put Brian Hayward in, hoping that he would generate some better luck for a team facing elimination. The Penguins continued to play their game, led by Lemieux. Every time he touched the puck, it seemed like something exciting was going to happen. Lemieux was even used to kill penalties in this game, which he did effectively.
Another star who was emerging for the Penguins was Jaromir Jagr. In his rookie season, he was getting a lot of ice time and he factored in on the next Penguins goal as he brought the puck around the net and threw it out in front. Bob Errey tapped it in to make the score 4-0. As the commentators spoke of Jagr, they mentioned how much his English had improved from the beginning of the season, and they also mentioned that he hailed from Czechoslovakia. As much as the world was changing in 1991, other things were still progressing. The Velvet Divorce that resulted in the Czech Republic and Slovakia becoming separate countries had not happened yet, and on a side note, I can’t recall a single Russian player’s name being mentioned throughout the game.
As the chippy play continued through the second period, the Penguins kept their foot on the gas and scored the next 2 goals to take a 6-0 lead to the dressing room for the second intermission. Ron Francis and Joe Mullen were the goal scorers, as it appeared the North Stars season was coming to a disappointing end. The Cinderella playoff run for a team that had finished 4th in the Norris Division with just 68 points in the regular season was appearing to finally be over.
The Penguins added 2 more goals in the third period, as Jim Paek and Larry Murphy were both the recipients of beautiful passes from Lemieux, who now had 4 points on the game and had a staggering 44 points in the playoffs en route to earning his first Conn Smythe trophy. Gainey did put Casey back in net after the first Penguins goal of the period, but the foregone conclusion of a Penguins victory could not be stopped.
As team captain, Lemieux was the first Penguin in history to hoist the cup as the celebration began. It was the first time that an American team had won a cup since the New York Islanders in 1983; a mind boggling fact by today’s standards. As the party continued, the Penguins threw on their Stanley Cup championship t-shirts and hats. This must have been one of the first times, and maybe the first time, that this type of marketing swag was part of the festivities. This is of course a staple for celebrations nowadays.
Although the Penguins repeated as champs in 1992, sadly, their beloved coach was not there to see it as Bob Johnson passed away in November of 1991. This also marked the last time the Minnesota North Stars played on a big stage, as the franchise would relocate to Dallas 2 years later. Hockey would not return to Minnesota until 2000, when the Wild entered the NHL as an expansion franchise.
Not-so-instant-replay 