On Apr. 3, 1993, the Pittsburgh Penguins captured the only President’s Trophy in team history with a 5-3 win over Quebec. Although the team fell short of their ultimate goal of winning their third Stanley Cup, there was still plenty to celebrate.
The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins are often considered to be one of the greatest teams in sports history to NOT win a championship. While the season was filled with some serious events that would hold life long implications for stars Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens, the team still managed to break records and came within one win of a third consecutive conference finals appearance.
Here’s a look back at how the 1992-93 Penguins won the only President’s Trophy in team history.
Bowman’s Best
On Oct. 6, 1992, the Penguins announced that Scotty Bowman would be coaching the team for the 1992-93 season.
Bowman had assumed control of the club on an interim basis Oct. 1, 1991, following the brain cancer diagnosis of Bob Johnson and helped the Penguins capture the Stanley Cup in 1992.
Bowman inked a new flexible five-year deal that would allow him to hold other jobs within the organization if he elected not to return as head coach for the 1993-94 season.
While the two sides worked out the deal, Barry Smith, Rick Kehoe and Rick Patterson coached the Penguins during the preseason and it was assumed that should the two sides fail to come to an agreement Craig Patrick would jump behind the bench.
Bowman’s signing came a day after the Penguins locked Mario Lemieux up with a new 7-year deal that would pay the future Hall-of-Famer an estimated $42 million dollars, the richest contract in the league at the time.
With their coach and superstar firmed up the Penguins set about their work.
Strong Start
The Penguins started the season with a 10-game unbeaten streak that lasted from Oct. 6, to Oct. 27, and were led by a dominant Lemieux, who was playing some of the finest hockey of his career.
Lemieux set a franchise record by scoring 18 goals in Pittsburgh’s first 12 games of this season.
During the streak Lemieux had:
- 5: Two-point games
- 3: Three-point games
- 1: Four-point game
- 3: Five-point games
Road Worn
On Mar. 14, 1993, the Penguins set a franchise mark by winning their 24th game on the road.
Culmativley, the team finished with a record of 24-15-3 in 42 road games, which translated to 51 of the team’s 119 total points on the season.
In terms of goal scoring, the team scored 165 goals on the road compared to the 202 goals scored at home, and at the other end of the ice, Pittsburgh allowed 140 goals against on the road, compared to the 128 goals against at home.
Tricky Business
The Penguins simply terrorized opposing netminders during the 1992-93 season.
Pittsburgh netted a franchise record of 367 goals, which eclipsed the previous record of 347 goals that the team scored during the 1988-89 season.
Lemieux factored in on 44% of the Penguins total offense in 1992-93 through 60 GP and 57% in 1988-89 through 76 GP.
The closet to that mark the Penguins have come to the record in modern times is 282 goals which the team accomplished in both the 2011-12 and 2016-17 seasons.
Over the course of the 1992-93 season Pittsburgh goal scorers combined for 10 hat tricks with the following breakdown:
- Lemieux – 4
- Stevens – 3
- Rick Tocchet – 2
- Joe Mullen – 15
The Century Mark
Lemieux finished the season with 69 goals and 160 points in 60 GP, which translates to approximately 2.66 points-per-game.
If Lemieux had been able to compete in the full season, he would have had the potential to score 224 points, which have been an addition of 64 points in the 24 games Lemieux missed to undergo his cancer treatment.
The Penguins also had three other players reach the century mark during the season, Kevin Stevens – 55 goals and 111 points, Tocchet – 48 goals and 109 points and Ron Francis – 24 goals and 100 points. Jaromir Jagr came close, scoring 34 goals and 94 points in 81 GP.
We’re Going Streaking
On Apr. 9, 1993, six days removed from claiming the President’s Trophy, the Penguins set the NHL record for most successive victories with 16, with a 10-4 win over the New York Rangers.
The streak surpassed the previous mark set by the New York Islanders in 1981-82, and ironically it was Pittsburgh that stopped that streak dead in its tracks.
The Penguins streak started with a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Mar. 9, 1993 and it ran until Apr. 10, 1993, with a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers, which gave Pittsburgh its 17th victory.
The New Jersey Devils stopped the streak with a 6-6 tie in the final game of the regular season.
What are some of your favorite moments from the Penguins 1992-93 season? Share them below.