5 Best Penguins Performances In March

In March, the Pittsburgh Penguins are usually entrenched in a playoff race, battling for the division's top spot or home-ice advantage. 

Considering how many legendary players have worn black and gold jerseys, it is no surprise that some played outstanding hockey in March.

Today, we look at five of the top performances.

During the 1988-89 season, Mario Lemieux broke a 13-year-old team record by scoring 18 goals in March. He finished the month with 18 goals, 12 assists, and 30 points in only 13 games, en route to an 85-goal and 199-point season.

Surprisingly, March was his second-best goal-scoring month (Dec—19) and fourth-highest point month (Dec—43). 

Meanwhile, Lemieux duplicated the feat in 1992-93, recording 18 goals and 37 points in 13 games. What made his achievement more remarkable is he played only two games in January and missed all of February for cancer treatments.

At the end of the season, the captain had 69 goals and 160 points to win the Art Ross, Hart, Bill Masterton, and Ted Lindsay Awards.

As mentioned, Lemieux returned to action after almost two months off in March 1993 and never missed a beat. In only 13 games, the future Hall of Famer scored 18 goals with 19 assists for 37 points. He was plus-12 with 11 even-strength goals, one shorthanded tally, and three game-winners. 

Lemieux recorded a 2.85 points-per-game average that month, which remains the highest total for any player in franchise history in March. Moreover, he recorded 68 shots on goal that season, equaling a 26.5 shooting percentage.

During the shortened 2012-13 season, the Penguins played 15 games in March, going a perfect 15-0-0, outscoring opponents 53-26. That year, Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis set the team record for the best plus-minus totals in the month, both players recording a plus-19 rating.

Crosby played in all 15 games, scoring six goals with 19 assists for 25 points, the ninth-best total in March behind Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Kevin Stevens. Meanwhile, Dupuis scored ten goals and had 14 points in 15 games. His ten goals rank 21st in franchise history for best performances in March.

In 1981-82, Paul Gardner became the first player to score seven power-play goals in March. Interestingly, he only scored eight goals that month, with seven coming on the man advantage, accounting for 87.5% of his totals. 

Six seasons later, Rob Brown, a former 40-goal scorer, tied Gardner with seven power-play goals in 14 games. Alongside Lemieux, Brown had 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points, which remains the 13th-best total in March. 

Surprisingly, both players had seven power-play goals in their respective March, but neither scored a shorthanded goal or had a game-winner in their record-setting months.

Only three players have ever recorded more than 70 shots in March for Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin (72), Pierre Larouche (75), and Paul Coffey, who set the franchise record with 76 in 1988-89. 

The Hall of Fame defenseman had never recorded more than 68 shots on goal in March until his second season with the Penguins when he registered 76. In 15 games, Coffey scored five goals and 19 points while averaging 5.06 shots a game.

Historically, March 1989 is the only time in his 21-year career that he recorded more than 70 shots on goal, and it just happened to occur while wearing a Penguins sweater.