1991–92 NHL season

1991–92 NHL season

The NHL 75th anniversary logo
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 3, 1991 – June 1, 1992
Number of games 80
Number of teams 22
Regular season
Presidents' Trophy New York Rangers
Season MVP Mark Messier, (New York)
Top scorer Mario Lemieux, (Pittsburgh)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Pittsburgh Penguins
  Eastern runners-up Boston Bruins
Western champions Chicago Blackhawks
  Western runners-up Edmonton Oilers
Playoffs Playoffs MVP Mario Lemieux, (Pittsburgh)
Stanley Cup
Champions Pittsburgh Penguins
  Runners-up Chicago Blackhawks

The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, winning a best of seven series four games to none against the Chicago Blackhawks.

League business

As mentioned above, 1991–92 was the 75th anniversary season for the NHL. Accordingly, all players wore a patch on their uniforms depicting the NHL 75th anniversary logo for this season.

This was the first season for the San Jose Sharks, the first expansion team in the NHL since 1979. The birth of the Sharks returned NHL hockey to the San Francisco Bay Area after the California Golden Seals had relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1976.

This was also the last season for John Ziegler as NHL President. He would be succeeded by Gil Stein, who held the position for one year before being replaced by Gary Bettman.

A new rule was added in which the final minute of every period is measured in tenths of a second, unlike whole seconds as in past seasons.

Throwback uniforms

As part of the NHL's 75th anniversary celebration, and taking cues from Major League Baseball's "Turn Back The Clock" uniform program, throwback uniforms were worn by Original Six teams for select games, and throwbacks were also worn for the All-Star Game.

The uniform styles that were worn include:

The throwback uniforms would influence future seasons in the NHL, as several teams adopted throwbacks as alternate jerseys. The National Football League and National Basketball Association would follow the NHL's lead, with teams wearing throwbacks to celebrate their leagues' 75th and 50th anniversaries, respectively.

Regular season

New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch became the fifth, and last as of 2015, defenseman to score 100 points in a season. He finished the season with 102 points and captured the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenseman. The Rangers ended the season with 105 points, winning the Presidents' Trophy as the top regular-season team in the NHL. It was the first time the Rangers had topped the league since 1942.

For the first time, the NHL finished play in the month of June. A primary reason for this was the 10-day NHL strike, the first work stoppage in league history, that started on April 1. The games that were supposed to be played during the strike were not canceled, but rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12.

For the first time in his NHL career, Wayne Gretzky failed to finish in the top two in scoring. The Pittsburgh Penguins' Kevin Stevens became only the third person in NHL history to outscore Gretzky in the regular season (Marcel Dionne tied Gretzky in Wayne's rookie year, but had more goals, and Mario Lemieux won the Art Ross Trophy over Gretzky in 1988 and 1989).

Final standings

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against

Wales Conference

Adams Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 80 41 28 11 267 207 93
2 Boston Bruins 80 36 32 12 270 275 84
3 Buffalo Sabres 80 31 37 12 289 299 74
4 Hartford Whalers 80 26 41 13 247 283 65
5 Quebec Nordiques 80 20 48 12 255 318 52
Patrick Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 P - New York Rangers 80 50 25 5 321 246 105
2 Washington Capitals 80 45 27 8 330 257 98
3 Pittsburgh Penguins 80 39 32 9 343 308 87
4 New Jersey Devils 80 38 31 11 289 259 87
5 New York Islanders 80 34 35 11 291 299 79
6 Philadelphia Flyers 80 32 37 11 252 273 75

P - Clinched Presidents Trophy

Wales Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – New York Rangers PAT 80 50 25 5 321 246 105
2 Washington Capitals PAT 80 45 27 8 330 257 98
3 Montreal Canadiens ADM 80 41 28 11 267 207 93
4 Pittsburgh Penguins PAT 80 39 32 9 343 308 87
5 New Jersey Devils PAT 80 38 31 11 289 259 87
6 Boston Bruins ADM 80 36 32 12 270 275 84
7 New York Islanders PAT 80 34 35 11 291 299 79
8 Philadelphia Flyers PAT 80 32 37 11 252 273 75
9 Buffalo Sabres ADM 80 31 37 12 289 299 74
10 Hartford Whalers ADM 80 26 41 13 247 283 65
11 Quebec Nordiques ADM 80 20 48 12 255 318 52

Divisions: ADM – Adams, PAT – Patrick

p – Clinched Presidents' Trophy
bold – Qualified for playoffs

Campbell Conference

Norris Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings 80 43 25 12 320 256 98
2 Chicago Blackhawks 80 36 29 15 257 236 87
3 St Louis Blues 80 36 33 11 279 266 83
4 Minnesota North Stars 80 32 42 6 246 278 70
5 Toronto Maple Leafs 80 30 43 7 234 294 67
Smythe Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Vancouver Canucks 80 42 26 12 285 250 96
2 Los Angeles Kings 80 35 31 14 287 250 84
3 Edmonton Oilers 80 36 34 10 295 297 82
4 Winnipeg Jets 80 33 32 15 251 244 81
5 Calgary Flames 80 31 37 12 296 305 74
6 San Jose Sharks 80 17 58 5 219 359 39
Campbell Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 43 25 12 320 256 98
2 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 42 26 12 285 250 96
3 Chicago Blackhawks NRS 80 36 29 15 257 236 87
4 Los Angeles Kings SMY 80 35 31 14 287 296 84
5 St. Louis Blues NRS 80 36 33 11 279 266 83
6 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 36 34 10 295 297 82
7 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 33 32 15 251 244 81
8 Calgary Flames SMY 80 31 37 12 296 305 74
9 Minnesota North Stars NRS 80 32 42 6 246 278 70
10 Toronto Maple Leafs NRS 80 30 43 7 234 294 67
11 San Jose Sharks SMY 80 17 58 5 219 359 39

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe
bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
                                     
A1  Montreal 4  
A4  Hartford 3  
  A1  Montreal 0  
  A2  Boston 4  
A2  Boston 4
A3  Buffalo 3  
  A2  Boston 0  
Prince of Wales Conference
  P3  Pittsburgh 4  
P1  NY Rangers 4  
P4  New Jersey 3  
  P1  NY Rangers 2
  P3  Pittsburgh 4  
P2  Washington 3
P3  Pittsburgh 4  
  P3  Pittsburgh 4
  N2  Chicago 0
N1  Detroit 4  
N4  Minnesota 3  
  N1  Detroit 0
  N2  Chicago 4  
N2  Chicago 4
N3  St. Louis 2  
  N2  Chicago 4
Clarence Campbell Conference
  S3  Edmonton 0  
S1  Vancouver 4  
S4  Winnipeg 3  
  S1  Vancouver 2
  S3  Edmonton 4  
S2  Los Angeles 2
S3  Edmonton 4  

Stanley Cup Finals

The series was held between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins won in four games, three out of four won by a one-goal margin. Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP.

Pittsburgh won series 4–0

Awards

Presidents' Trophy: New York Rangers
Prince of Wales Trophy: Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Chicago Blackhawks
Art Ross Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Mark Fitzpatrick, New York Islanders
Calder Memorial Trophy: Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks
Conn Smythe Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: Mark Messier, New York Rangers
Jack Adams Award: Pat Quinn, Vancouver Canucks
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Lester B. Pearson Award: Mark Messier, New York Rangers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Paul Ysebaert, Detroit Red Wings
Vezina Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
William M. Jennings Trophy: Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy: Al Arbour, Art Berglund, Lou Lamoriello

All-Star teams

First team   Position   Second team
Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens G Kirk McLean, Vancouver Canucks
Brian Leetch, New York Rangers D Phil Housley, Winnipeg Jets
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins D Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils
Mark Messier, New York Rangers C Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues RW Mark Recchi, PIT/PHI
Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins LW Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh 64 44 87 131
Kevin Stevens Pittsburgh 80 54 69 123
Wayne Gretzky Los Angeles 74 31 90 121
Brett Hull St. Louis 73 70 39 109
Luc Robitaille Los Angeles 80 44 63 107
Mark Messier NY Rangers 79 35 72 107
Jeremy Roenick Chicago 80 53 50 103
Steve Yzerman Detroit 79 45 58 103
Brian Leetch NY Rangers 80 22 80 102
Adam Oates St. Louis/Boston 80 20 79 99

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Regular Season
Player Team GP TOI W L T GA SO Sv% GAA
Patrick Roy Montreal 67 3935 36 22 8 155 5 .914 2.36
Ed Belfour Chicago 52 2928 21 18 10 132 5 .894 2.70
Kirk McLean Vancouver 65 3852 38 17 9 176 5 .901 2.74
John Vanbiesbrouck NY Rangers 45 2526 27 13 3 120 2 .910 2.85
Bob Essensa Winnipeg 47 2627 21 17 6 126 5 .910 2.88

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991–92 (listed with their first team):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1991–92 (listed with their last team):

See also

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 "1991-1992 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. ↑ "1991-1992 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  3. ↑ "1991-1992 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.

External links

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