Pittsburgh Penguins history: Revisiting the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals

Let’s take a look back at the 1996 Eastern Conference Final, which the Pittsburgh Penguins lost in seven games to the Florida Panthers.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers met in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals, the general consensus amongst analysts had the Penguins taking the series in five games. After all, the Pens scored a league-best 362 goals during the regular season and relied on the top two lines to carry the offensive output.

The Panthers, on the other hand, had a more balanced line-up and played a more conservative brand of hockey. Florida had dispelled the Bruins and the Flyers, en route to their confrontation with the Penguins and enjoyed the underdog label affixed to them by the hockey world.

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We know Pittsburgh dropped the series in seven games, but here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the 1996 Eastern Conference Final.

The Brutal Ones

By the mid-1990’s it was fair to say the Penguins and games 1 did not mesh well. Pittsburgh had lost 10 of 16 series openers since 1991, and with a week off between their elimination of the Rangers and game one of their series with the Panthers, the oxidation on their game was highly evident, as Pittsburgh dropped the opening contest by a score of 5-1.

Not only did the Panthers steal home-ice advantage away from the Penguins, but they also secured just their second victory against Pittsburgh in three seasons. Mario Lemieux was also held without a goal for the first time in eight games, a theme that would be present for the rest of the series.

Hot Glove Goes Cold

When back spasms claimed starting goalie Tom Barrasso early in Pittsburgh’s first-round series versus the Washington Capitals, backup goaltender Ken Wregget lead the Penguins on a 7-1 run through first two rounds of the playoffs.

After Wregget was torched for 5 goals on 25 shots in game one of the series, Johnson elected to ride the seasoned postseason performer Barrasso for the rest of the series.

Flu-Like Symptoms

Game two of the series found several Penguins stars battling the flu. Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Nedved, and Neil Wilkinson all fell victim to a nasty virus that claimed Lemieux for the first 11 minutes of the second period.

After the game Jagr seemed perplexed with the assertion from Johnston that he was suffering from the flu, the only thing that seemed to plague Jagr was a severe sunburn.

On Thin Ice

It took the Florida Panthers just three seasons to reach the Conference Finals since their inauguration into the NHL in 1993. Although hockey in Florida wasn’t a nouveau idea, hockey in Florida, in late May, presented Miami Arena management with some serious ice quality issues.

As the series shifted to the sunshine state, for games three and four, arena staff had to rent 10 giant dehumidifiers at a cost of $40,000 to dry the air before it entered the arena, to make a somewhat playable surface.

No pain, No Gain

Panthers rookie Radek Dvorak not only scored his first career playoff goal in game three of the series but also managed to lose three teeth and earn a busted lip courtesy of a high-stick from Penguins defenseman Sergei Zubov. Needless to say, he now has a daily reminder of his trip to the Conference finals.

Broken Dreams

When the Penguins offense dried up during the course of the series, they could have used the services of the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer, Ron Francis.

Francis didn’t make an appearance in the Conference Finals, he broke his foot when he blocked a shot in the second period of the elimination game against the New York Rangers.

Big Gun Falls Silent

One of the biggest issues that plagued the Penguins in the conference finals was the inability of  Lemieux to find the back of the net.

Lemieux saw a steep decline in offensive production over the duration of the postseason and was effectively dismantled by Florida defenders.

Lemieux averaged 2.3 PPG during the regular season where he led the league in points earning 161 points in 70 games.

Ironically, his production dropped to 0.66 PPG in the playoffs. He still performed admirably during the Penguins postseason run, as he earned 27 points in 18 games, but failed to deliver the heroics that rewrote history in previous postseasons

Of interesting note, both Lemieux and Jagr were held scoreless in the final five games or 300 minutes of the series.

Dialed In

As the series wore on, Tom Barrasso played some of the finest hockey of his career. His ability to keep the Penguins competitive drew comparisons to his level of play that he displayed during the Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cup runs of the early 1990s.

Barrasso earned the fifth postseason shutout of his career in game 5 of the series, which was his first since May 4, 1993, and included a stretch of play where he allowed one goal in 60 shots.

Barrasso finished the series with a record of 3-3, but without his presence in goal and puck handling ability, it’s safe to say the series probably would not have gone the distance.

The Fourth Win is The Hardest

When hockey players say “the fourth win is always the hardest”  it is not just a tired hockey cliche.

When the Penguins botched their 3-2 Conference Final lead, it marked the third time in franchise history that the team had failed to close out a series when holding that advantage. the other two occasions were in 1989 vs. Philadelphia and their 1993 series vs. New York Islanders.

Gently Into That Good Night?

When the dust settled from the fallout of the conference finals, Lemieux strongly contemplated retirement. He declined an invitation to represent Canada at the World Hockey Championships and wondered if the game had passed him by.

Lemieux would return for the 1996-97 campaign and whether or not the motivation was a thirst to drink from the Stanley Cup for the third time or collect $11 million dollars is anyone’s guess. The “Magnificent One” would start the season flanked by Glen Murray and Alek Stojanov, so it appears he favored one over the other.