The Pittsburgh Penguins earned two important Stanley Cup finals victories on May 30, 1992 and 2016.

With the Stanley Cup Final approaching, it brings up good times the Pittsburgh Penguins once enjoyed. Despite this brief cloud of darkness hanging over the organization, the beginning of summer has normally been kind to the boys of winter. So, let's take a look back at Penguins' history to re-live some of the franchise's biggest moments on this day in history. 

May 30, 1992 

The Penguins are the top dogs in the NHL. They finally broke through and won their first Stanley Cup in 1991 and stormed into the 1992 Playoffs with the same intensity that earned them their Cup the year prior. Their captain, the incomparable Mario Lemieux, returned from a malicious slash that broke his hand to lead his team to their second straight Final appearance against the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The Penguins are red-hot entering the finals after dismantling the Boston Bruins in four games. Opposing them is a Blackhawks team led by a terrific young player named Jeremy Roenick and backstopped by future hall of famers, Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek. Despite the talent on Chicago's roster, they proved to be no match for the almighty Penguins.

On May 30, 1992, the Penguins battled the Blackhawks in Chicago in a pivotal game three. The Pens took the first two games in dramatic fashion after Lemieux buried the Game 1 winner in the final seconds of the third period and scored two more in Game 2 to give his team a two game lead in the series. 

Game 3 was a defensive and goaltending battle, as Belfour and Penguins' netminder Tom Barrasso put on a clinic. Barrasso stopped 27 shots for a shutout as the Penguins piled up 10 penalty minutes in the game. Meanwhile, Belfour stopped 19 of 20 shots. The lone goal that did get by him would prove to be the game winning and only goal of the game, when Kevin Stevens scored his 12th of the playoffs. 

The result of the game meant the Penguins had their boots on the Blackhawks' throats, and they swiftly eliminated them in game four to clinch back-to-back titles. 

May 30, 2016

The 2016 Stanley Cup Final kicked off on May 30, 2016, as the Penguins met the San Jose Sharks. The Penguins were fueled by a youth renaissance, getting huge efforts from rookies like Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, and Matt Murray. Leaders Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin are on top of their games, and newcomer Phil Kessel is providing a secondary scoring option that is unmatched around the league. The Penguins enter the final round with a confidence and swagger that the Sharks struggled to match all series. 

Game 1 at PPG Paints Arena started out all Pittsburgh. The Penguins took an early 2-0 lead, scoring goals less than a minute apart to jump all over the Sharks. San Jose battled back, however, and the game was tied at 2 in the third period. 

That’s when folk hero Nick Bonino came up large again, as the “HBK” line had done all postseason. 17 minutes into the last period, Bonino took a feed from Kris Letang and fired a fluttering wrist shot past goaltender Martin Jones. The Pens hung on for a 3-2 victory and picked up an integral 1-0 series lead on their way to a Stanley Cup championship. 

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