The 1992 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1991–92 season, and the culmination of the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Prince of Wales Conference and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were appearing in their first Final since . After the Blackhawks jumped to an early 4–1 lead in the first game of the series, Mario Lemieux and the Penguins came back to win the game, sweep the series in four games, and win their second consecutive and second overall Stanley Cup. The fourth and final game of this series was the first time a Stanley Cup playoff game was played in the month of June and at the time it was the latest finishing date for an NHL season. This was also the last Final to be played at Chicago Stadium as it closed in 1994.
Paths to the Final
Pittsburgh defeated the Washington Capitals 4–3 in the Patrick Division Semifinals, the Presidents' Trophy winning New York Rangers 4–2 in the Patrick Division Finals, and the Adams Division champion Boston Bruins 4–0 in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
For Chicago to reach the Stanley Cup Final, it had to get past two of its fiercest rivals. First, the Blackhawks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4–2 in the Norris Division Semifinals, then their long-time Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, 4–0 in the Norris Division Finals. Finally, Chicago swept the Smythe Division champion Edmonton Oilers 4–0 in the Clarence Campbell Conference Finals to reach the Cup Final.
With their co-tenants at Chicago Stadium, the Bulls, coached by Phil Jackson and led by Michael Jordan, playing in (and winning) the NBA Finals, it was an opportunity for both the Blackhawks and the Bulls to help the city of Chicago become the first city to have both NHL and NBA championships in the same year. Two years later, New York City would also have this opportunity, when the NBA's Knicks and NHL's Rangers made the finals in their respective sports. However, the result was the same, albeit a reversal of Chicago's ending, as the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1940 while the Knicks lost, with both series going the full seven games.
Chicago set an NHL playoff record in winning 11 games in a row to reach the Cup Final. Ed Belfour had set a new record for consecutive wins by a goaltender with eleven while Barrasso had won seven in a row.
Pittsburgh had won seven in a row entering the finals and swept Chicago in four games to tie Chicago's record. Pittsburgh then extended the playoff winning streak record to 14 with wins in the first three games against the New Jersey Devils in the following season's first playoff round.
Both teams finished the regular season with 87 points. The Penguins earned home-ice advantage by virtue of having 39 wins to the Blackhawks' 36.
Game summaries The Penguins were led by captain Mario Lemieux, coach Scotty Bowman, and goaltender Tom Barrasso. The Blackhawks were led by captain Dirk Graham, head coach Mike Keenan and goaltender Ed Belfour. They also made history in having the first Russian-born player to have a chance to get their name on the Stanley Cup in Igor Kravchuk.
Mario Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for the second consecutive year, becoming only the second player in NHL history to do so: Bernie Parent had won it when the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup in the consecutive years of and .
Game one
In the opening game of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final, the 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 Final 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 Final 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, Jaromír Jágr deked around three Blackhawks, 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 to deliver the game-winning goal; in total, Pittsburgh had the lead for all of thirteen seconds and won the game.
Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stCHIChris Chelios (6) – ppBrent Sutter (5)06:341–0 CHICHIMichel Goulet (3)Unassisted13:172–0 CHICHIDirk Graham (4)Chris Chelios (12)13:433-0 CHIPITPhil Bourque (3) – ppRick Tocchet (8) and Ron Francis (18)17:263–1 CHI2ndCHIBrent Sutter (3)Steve Larmer (7) and Chris Chelios (13)11:364–1 CHIPITRick Tocchet (5)Paul Stanton (7) and Shawn McEachern (6)15:244–2 CHIPITMario Lemieux (12)Kevin Stevens (13)16:234–3 CHI3rdPITJaromír Jágr (10)Unassisted15:054–4PITMario Lemieux (13) – ppLarry Murphy (9) and Ron Francis (19)19:475–4 PIT Penalty summary 1st CHI Mike Hudson Interference 02:07 2:00 PIT Gordie Roberts Holding 06:27 2:00 CHI Mike Peluso Hooking 09:34 2:00 CHI Igor Kravchuk Holding 15:44 2:00 PIT Bryan Trottier Interference 18:39 2:00 2nd CHI Rob Brown Elbowing 02:17 2:00 CHI Bench (served by Jocelyn Lemieux) Too many men on the ice 13:21 2:00 3rd PIT Paul Stanton Hooking 01:24 2:00 PIT Larry Murphy Hooking 17:39 2:00 CHI Steve Smith Hooking 19:42 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 11 12 34 15 10 14 39
Game two
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.
Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stPITBob Errey (3) – shJim Paek (2)09:521–0 PIT2ndCHIBryan Marchment (1)Brian Noonan (7) and Greg Gilbert (2)10:241–1 PITMario Lemieux (14) – ppRick Tocchet (9)12:552–1 PITPITMario Lemieux (15)Rick Tocchet (10) and Kjell Samuelsson (3)15:233–1 PIT3rdNone Penalty summary 1st CHI Mike Peluso Roughing 02:07 2:00 PIT Paul Stanton Delay of game 07:38 2:00 PIT Paul Stanton Tripping 07:38 2:00 CHI Steve Smith Interference 11:05 2:00 CHI Brian Noonan Cross-checking 18:36 2:00 2nd CHI Bryan Marchment Elbowing 12:12 2:00 CHI Bench (served by Dirk Graham) Too many men on the ice 19:43 2:00 3rd PIT Gordie Roberts Holding 02:07 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 4 4 19 8 11 6 25
Game three
In game three, the Blackhawks put up more offensive pressure on the Penguins. Pittsburgh instead shut out the Blackhawks, with Tom Barrasso stopping all 27 shots in the three periods. The lone goal came from Kevin Stevens putting his team into a 3–0 series lead. With 31 seconds remaining in the game, Penguins defenseman Larry Murphy struck Blackhawks defenseman Chris Chelios in the face. In response, Chelios threw down his gloves and stick and began punching Murphy multiple times in the head. As a result, Chelios was given a major penalty and was ejected from the game.
Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stPITKevin Stevens (12)Jim Paek (3) and Rick Tocchet (11)15:261–0 PIT 2ndNone3rdNone Penalty summary 1st PIT Kjell Samuelsson High-sticking 05:43 2:00 PIT Gordie Roberts Tripping 11:50 2:00 CHI Michel Goulet Holding 16:47 2:00 PIT Jaromír Jágr Holding 19:14 2:00 2nd CHI Steve Larmer Cross-checking 04:38 2:00 PIT Paul Stanton Holding 07:04 2:00 CHI Chris Chelios Slashing 10:56 2:00 3rd PIT Jim Paek Interference 10:05 2:00 CHI Chris Chelios Fighting – major 19:29 5:00 CHI Chris Chelios Game misconduct 19:29 10:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 8 6 20 13 6 8 27
Game four