Original author: Al Morganti: Jun. 12, 1992

From October to April, the Pittsburgh Penguins teased the rest of the NHL, staggering through long periods when they looked like anything but the defending Stanley Cup champions.

But when the NHL’s longest and most tumulnous season finally concluded on the first night of June at Chicago Stadium, it was again Mario Lemieux and the Penguins who hoisted the Stanley Cup.

The final game was a fitting end to the Penguins’ journey. Throughout the game, they teased the Blackhawks, taking four one-goal leads and entering the final period in a 4-4 tie before snuffing out the Hawks 6-5.

Despite the nip-and-tuck nature of the last game, in the end the Penguins were simply too much for Chicago. The four-game sweep was the first since the Edmonton Oilers beat the Boston Bruins in 1988.

And there can be no doubt that once again the Penguins are the class of the NHL.

Pittsburgh finished the playoffs on an 11-time winning streak. Ironically, the Blackhawks entered the final series with a similar 11-game streak only to be buried by the Penguins’ combination of defense, headlined by the goaltending of Tom Barrasso, and offense, headlined by Lemieux.

“I think you can win one Stanley Cup and people might say you got the breaks,” Barrasso said. “But two in a row, that really says something. It says something about your character.”

Those who wish to rush to judgment and fit the Penguins into a niche among the NHL’s championship teams would do well to compare this group to Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers. Much like those Edmonton teams, which featured Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier, this Penguins’ team has ample offense with Lemieux, emerging star Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens.

The comparison becomes even stronger when you consider, like those Edmonton teams, the Penguins have learned that when the playoffs arrive, they must sacrifice some of their freewheeling offense for defensive grit.

They learned that lesson well under coach Bob Johnson last season and used that memory reflex this spring to limit their opponents to just 36 goals in their final 14 games.

“We can play it any way they want,” Stevens said. “If they want to open it up against us, that’s fine. We’re confident we can play that way and nobody can stay with us. And if they want to play the other way, well, that’s fine, too.”

When you look back at Pittsburgh’s championship odyssey, you will see a team that was driven by the challenge of big games. Jarred by the death of Johnson early in the season, they chafed under the cactus style of coach Scott Bowman. The complaining came to a head during a team meeting in February but they never let off-ice problems blot out their final goal.

“We never lost our focus,” Barrasso said. “We always stuck together and we went through a lot with the death of our coach. It was a tough season for Scotty Bowman. A lot of people, I think, looked at it as if he would be a failure if we did not win the Cup. That’s a lot of pressure.”

The Penguins’ playoff road began with a scary seven-game series against the Washington Capitals, a series in which they were forced to the wall for the only time in the playoffs, trailing 3-1 in the series before mounting a comeback.

"We learned our lessons in that series,” left winger Troy Loney said. “We stopped taking penalties. There is no better feeling than having a cut on your face at the end of the series but shaking hands in the winning line.”

Pittsburgh wobbled through the regular season. There was actually some question about whether the Penguins would qualify for the playoffs in the competitive Patrick Division. But when the Penguins could see April, they drove up the tempo.

Following a similar plan as last season, general manager Craig Patrick made a major move in February, sending 100-point scorer Mark Recchi to the Philadelphia Flyers and superstar defenseman Paul Coffey to the Los Angeles Kings in a deal that brought rugged forward Rick Tocchet and defenseman Kjell Samuelsson to Pittsburgh.

It was a move similar to the acquisition of Ulf Samuelsson and Ron Francis from the Hartford Whalers last spring and the results were just as impressive.

With Lemieux, Jagr, and Stevens filling the sails with wind, guys such as Tocchet, Kjell Samuelsson, and the rest of an underrated defensive corps helped batten down the hatches.

Having escaped the Washington series, the Penguins faced what many felt would be their most severe test in a second-round match with the New York Rangers. The Penguins watched as Lemieux and Joe Mullen were wiped out with injuries at Madison Square Garden. But even with those two gone, the Penguins took the series against a team with the best record in the NHL.

“I think that series was the toughest,” Barrasso said. “With Mario and Joe Mullen gone, a lot of guys had to come to the front.”

Lemieux, who came back for the second game of a four-game sweep over the Boston Bruins in the semifinals, played brilliantly despite a damaged hand.

Before the final series, Chicago coach Mike Keenan warned his Blackhawks might try to “lean on” Lemieux. He had it wrong. The only people who lean on Mario Lemieux are the Pittsburgh Penguins, and once again he held them up.

“He’s the greatest player in the world,” Keenan said after the final game. And again, the leader of the Stanley Cup champions

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