1988-1989 Pittsburgh Penguins: Go Go Super Mario!

1988-1989 Pittsburgh Penguins: Go Go Super Mario!

1988-1989 Pittsburgh Penguins: Go Go Super Mario!

The Pittsburgh Penguins only had moderate success in their early years in the NHL, but when a certain superstar player joined the team it would only be a matter of time until the Penguins would become perennial contenders for the Stanley Cup. The first real sign of this would be the 1988-1989 campaign where scoring goals came almost to easy for Penguins players.

The Penguins went 40-33-7 with 87 points in the 1988-1989 NHL season, finishing in 2nd place in the Patrick Division and finishing in 4th place in the Prince of Wales Conference. The Penguins finished just 1 win and 5 points behind the Washington Capitals for the division and they went 4-3 against the Capitals in head-to-head play. The Penguins played well on their home ice as they went 24-13-3 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena and 16-20-4 on the road.

The Penguins fared well in head-to-head play as they went 4-2-1 against the New York Islanders, 4-3 against their Pennsylvania rivals the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-3-1 against the New York Rangers, 2-0-1 against the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets, and 1-1-1 against the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues.

Center Mario Lemieux was the heart and soul of the Penguins as he was the team’s Captain, and statistically he had the best regular season of his career in 1988-1989. Lemieux had 85 goals and 114 assists for 199 points with 31 power play goals, 48 power play assists, 13 short-handed goals and 8 game-winning goals off 313 shots. Lemieux’s 114 assists were tied for the most in the NHL along with Wayne Gretzky. Lemieux would be selected to the NHL 1st All-Star Team and he would win the Art Ross Trophy for an individual accomplishment.

Right winger Rob Brown had 49 goals and 66 assists for 115 points with 24 power play goals, 23 power play assists and 6 game-winning goals off 169 shots. Center Dan Quinn had 34 goals and 60 assists for 94 points with 16 power play goals, 31 power play assists and 4 game-winning goals off 200 shots. Defenseman Paul Coffey was an Alternate Captain for the team and he had 30 goals and 83 assists for 113 points with 11 power play goals and 53 power play assists off 342 shots. Coffey would join Lemieux on the NHL 1st All-Star Team.

Left winger Bob Errey had 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points with 5 game-winning goals off 130 shots. Left winger Randy Cunneyworth was another Alternate Captain for the Penguins and he had 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points with 10 power play goals off 163 shots. Left winger Phil Borque had 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points with 13 power play assists and 3 game-winning goals off 153 shots. Center John Cullen had 12 goals and 37 assists for 49 points with 8 power play goals and 17 power play assists off 121 shots. Defenseman Zarley Zalapski had 12 goals and 33 assists for 45 points with 23 power play assists off 95 shots.

Goaltender Tom Barrasso went 18-15-7, allowing 162 goals off 1445 shots in 2406 minutes, recording 283 saves, an .888 save percentage and a 4.04 goals against average. Goaltender Wendell Young went 12-9, allowing 92 goals off 673 shots in 1150 minutes, recording 581 saves, an .863 save percentage and a 4.80 goals against average. Goaltender Frank Pietrangelo went 5-3, allowing 45 goals off 409 shots in 669 minutes, recording an .890 save percentage and a 4.04 goals against average.

The Penguins made quick work of the New York Rangers in the Division Semifinals by sweeping them 4 games to none. In Game 1 on April 5 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena the Penguins beat the Rangers 3-1. Right winger Tomas Sandstrom scored the only New York goal while Paul Coffey scored 2 goals and Dan Quinn scored 1 goal for Pittsburgh.

In Game 2 on April 6 Pittsburgh defeated New York 7-4. Right winger Guy Lafleur, defenseman Brian Leetch, left winger John Ogrodnick and center Carey Wilson all scored goals for New York while 7 different Penguins scored a single goal, which were Phil Borque, Rob Brown, Randy Cunneyworth, Zarley Zalapski, right winger Jock Callander, left winger Kevin Stevens, and of course Mario Lemieux.

In Game 3 on April 8 at Madison Square Garden the Penguins beat the Rangers 5-3. Along with Ogrodnick and Sandstrom, right winger Tony Granato scored a goal for New York while Dan Quinn led the way for Pittsburgh as he scored 2 goals. Lemieux, Cullen and Stevens each scored 1 goal.

In Game 4 on April 9 the Penguins put the Rangers away with a 4-3 victory. Leetch scored goals for New York while Sandstrom scored 1 goal. Pittsburgh was carried by 2 goals scored by Borque while Lemieux and Brown both scored 1 goal.

Unfortunately for the Penguins they did not have the same kind of success against their rivals from the other side of Pennsylvania as they would fall to the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 3 in the Division Finals. In Game 1 on April 17 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena the Penguins beat the Flyers 4-3. The Flyers had goals scored by center and right winger Tim Kerr, center Dave Poulin and left winger Brian Propp. The Penguins had goals scored by Lemieux, Brown, Cullen and Quinn. The game-winning goal belonged to Brown.

In Game 3 on April 21 at The Spectrum the Penguins edged out the Flyers 4-3 in overtime. Propp, Poulin and center Keith Acton all scored 1 goal for Philadelphia while Lemieux, Quinn and Callander all scored 1 goal for Pittsburgh. The game-winning goal came from Borque. Finally Game 5 on April 25 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena was a wild showdown as the offenses of both team’s showed up. Along with Kerr, center Pelle Eklund scored 2 goals for Philadelphia while Propp, center Mike Bullard and left winger Derrick Smith each scored 1 goal.

This was the game where Mario Lemieux exploded on the ice with a passionate performance, giving fans enough reason to nickname him “Super Mario”. Lemieux scored 5 goals and had 3 assists. Brown scored 2 goals while Stevens and left winger Troy Loney each scored 1 goal. Paul Coffey had 4 assists in Game 5.

The campaign of 1988-1989 was a clear sign to Pittsburgh hockey fans that the Penguins were on their way to something special, and the early 1990’s would confirm such feelings as they would win back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 1991 and 1992.