1990-1991 Minnesota North Stars: Inspirational

1990-1991 Minnesota North Stars: Inspirational

1990-1991 Minnesota North Stars: Inspirational

After entering the National Hockey League in 1967, the Minnesota North Stars franchise had seen plenty of success on the ice on multiple occasions, making deep playoff runs. However, the one accomplishment that had eluded this franchise was an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Along with the uncertainty of a future in the state of Minnesota since fan attendance had slipped, the North Stars had become more eager than ever to reach the big stage of hockey.

The 1990-1991 North Stars went 27-39-14 with 68 points, which normally wasn’t a good enough record to qualify for postseason play, but the Norris Division and the Campbell Conference were highly competitive, which led to some teams being dominant and other teams struggling to remain consistent. The North Stars finished 38 points behind the division-winning Chicago Blackhawks, finishing as the 7th seed.

The North Stars were generally successful defending their home ice as they went 19-15-6 at the Metropolitan Sports Center. In head-to-head play the North Stars went 3-0 against the Quebec Nordiques, 2-0-1 against the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 against the Hartford Whalers and New York Islanders, and 1-1-1 against the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Vancouver Canucks.

Center Dave Gagner had 40 goals and 42 assists for 82 points with 20 power play goals, 14 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals off 223 shots. Left winger Brian Bellows had 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points with 17 power play goals, 16 power play assists and 4 game-winning goals off 296 shots. Right winger Mike Modano had 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points with 9 power play goals and 15 power play assists off 232 shots. Left winger Brian Propp had 26 goals and 47 assists for 73 points with 9 power play goals and 24 power play assists off 171 shots.

Right winger Ulf Dahlen had 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points off 133 shots. Center Bobby Smith had 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points with 7 power play goals and 13 power play assists off 121 shots. Center Neal Broten had 13 goals and 56 assists for 69 points with 24 power play assists off 191 shots. Center Perry Berezan had 11 goals and 3 short-handed goals in 52 games played. Defenseman Mark Tinordi had 27 assists and 11 power play assists in 69 games played.

Goaltender Jon Casey was mainly responsible for keeping the North Stars in games as he went 21-20-11, allowing 158 goals in 3185 minutes, recording 1292 saves, an .891 save percentage, a 2.98 goals against average and 3 shutouts.

The Norris Division Semifinals pitted the North Stars against the Chicago Blackhawks, a team they went 1-5 against in head-to-head play. In Game 1 on April 4 at Chicago Stadium the North Stars beat the Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime. Jon Casey had 20 saves while Brian Propp scored the game-winning goal.

In Game 2 on April 6 the Blackhawks responded by winning 5-2. Goaltender Ed Belfour had 28 saves for Chicago. Returning home to the Metropolitan Sports Center for Game 3 on April 8, the North Stars lost again to the Blackhawks 6-5. Center Jeremy Reonick scored the game-winning goal for Chicago. Minnesota responded by winning Game 4 on April 10 by the score of 3-1. The North Stars then made the Blackhawks return to Chicago Stadium an uncomfortable one as they recorded a 6-0 shutout win. Propp led the way with 2 power play goals and 1 assist. Finally in Game 6 on April 14 at the Metropolitan Sports Center, the North Stars beat the Blackhawks 3-1. Brian Bellows had 2 goals and 1 assist.

The North Stars would fare better against the St. Louis Blues in the Norris Division Finals. In Game 1 on April 18 at the St. Louis Arena the North Stars beat the Blues 2-1. Jon Casey had 31 saves in this contest. In Game 2 on April 20 the Blues beat the North Stars 5-2. The North Stars would rebound in Game 3 on April 22 and never look back as they won 5-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center. Casey came up big again with 29 saves. In Game 4 on April 24 the North Stars crushed the Blues 8-4 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. Mike Modano, Brian Bellows and defenseman Brian Glynn all had 2 goals each. In Game 5 on April 26 at the St. Louis Arena the Blues won 4-2. In Game 6 on April 28 the North Stars eliminated the Blues with a 3-2 victory. Bobby Smith had 2 goals.

The Campbell Conference Finals pitted the North Stars against the Edmonton Oilers, which turned out to be an interesting matchup. In Game 1 on May 2 at the Northlands Coliseum the North Stars won 3-1. Casey had 27 saves. The Oilers came back to pound the North Stars 7-2 in Game 2 on May 4. Winger Petr Klima scored 3 goals for Edmonton.

Back at the Metropolitan Sports Center for Game 3 on May 6, the North Stars won 7-3. Bellows had 2 goals and 1 assist while the combination of Modano, Propp, Smith, Tinordi and right winger Shane Churla all scored 1 goal each. In Game 4 on May 8 the North Stars won 5-1 with the help of 20 saves by Casey. Finally in Game 5 on May 10 at the Northlands Coliseum, the North Stars put the Oilers away with a 3-2 victory.

The inspirational run of the Minnesota North Stars finally came to end when they ran into the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals as they fell to the Penguins 4 games to 2. Despite this unfortunate result the fact remained that the North Stars had made one significant accomplishment in getting farther than they had ever gone in the playoffs in franchise history. The North Stars took Game 1 on May 15 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena with a 5-4 win. Neal Broten had 2 goals and Casey was still great in front of the net, recording 34 saves. In Game 3 on May 19 at the Metropolitan Sports Center the North Stars won 3-1. Along with Casey’s 29 saves Bobby Smith, Dave Gagner and left winger Gaetan Duchesne each scored 1 goal.

The Minnesota North Stars were inspirational in their deep playoff run, and it played a key factor in keeping interest in the National Hockey League alive in the state of Minnesota.