The Pittsburgh Penguins just wrapped up their 57th season, missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season. Despite their recent lack of success, the franchise has appeared in the playoffs 37 times and won five championships.

Our newest series will reflect on how the Penguins performed on specific days leading up to the 2025 Stanley Cup Final.

Today, May 23, Pittsburgh has compiled a 3-1 record in four games on this date.

• 1991 - Game 5 Win vs. Minnesota North Stars (6-4)
• 1992 - Game 4 Win vs. Boston Bruins (5-1)
• 2009 - Game 3 Win vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6-2)
• 2017 - Game 6 Loss vs. Ottawa Senators (2-1)

Notable Penguins Performances On This Day

May 23, 1991 - The Penguins move to within one game of winning their first Stanley Cup title thanks to Larry Murphy's four points in a 6-4 win over the North Stars. Interestingly, it was the future Hall of Famer's second four-point night in 12 days and the final time in his 21-year career. 

Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux had a goal and two assists for his sixth three-point game of the 1991 playoffs. Three players, Paul Coffey (two assists), Ron Francis (goal, assist), and Mark Recchi (two goals), had multi-point games.

With Byram On Trade Market, Penguins Need To Take Notice In his season-ending press conference on Apr. 21, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' POHO and GM Kyle Dubas specified that the team would look to bolster the left side on defense from outside the organization.

May 23, 1992 - Pittsburgh advances to its second straight Stanley Cup Final by sweeping the Bruins for the second consecutive season, thanks to a 5-1 win in Game 4. The Penguins' offense was led by Francis (two assists), Lemieux (two goals), and Paul Stanton (goal, assist), who had two-point games. Overall, nine players got on the scoresheet. 

May 23, 2009 - Evgeni Malkin continued his quest for the 2009 Conn Smythe with a three-point performance in Game 3 with two goals and an assist in a 6-2 win. Every other player who registered a point in his contest had two points, including Craig Adams, Sidney Crosby, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Bill Guerin, who each had a goal and an assist, while Sergei Gonchar and Chris Kunitz had two helpers.