On This Date in Sports May 14, 1993
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Pittsburgh Penguins two-year reign as Stanley Cup Champions comes to a sudden and shocking end as they lose to the New York Islanders 4-3 in overtime of Game 7 of the Patrick Division Finals at the Igloo. The Islanders win the game on a goal by David Volek after the Penguins forced overtime with two late goals in the third period. The Islanders would not win another playoff series until 2016.
Coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships, the Pittsburgh Penguins coached by Scotty Bowman had one of the greatest regular seasons in NHL history. Posting a record of 56-21-7, the Penguins, tallied 119 points and won the President’s Trophy for the first time in franchise history. The year was marked by triumph over adversity as Mario Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. Despite missing 24 games, Super Mario won the Art Ross Trophy, leading the league in scoring with 160 points, scoring 69 goals with 91 assists as he also won the Hart Trophy given to the NHL MVP and the Bill Masterton Trophy is given to dedication to hockey. As the season came to an end, the Penguins were the hottest team in the NHL, winning 17-straight games to set a new NHL record.
The Penguins winning streak ended with a 6-6 tie against the New Jersey Devils in the final game of the regular season. The Penguins would face the Devils in the first round of the playoffs, looking to extend their record 11-game playoff winning streak. A streak they would extend to 14, before dropping Game 4 in the Meadowlands by a score of 4-1. The Penguins would end up closing the series in five games, winning the finale at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena 5-3.
The New York Islanders were a franchise in transition, a decade had passed since their great dynasty and the team was looking at an uncertain future after the departure of longtime General Manager Bill Torrey. The Islanders coached by Al Arbour managed a decent season in 1993, finishing third in the Patrick Division with a record of 40-37-7. In the playoffs, the Islanders faced the Washington Capitals. After dropping the opener in Landover, the Islanders won the next three games in overtime, with Brian Mullen netting the game-winner in Game 2, and Ray Ferraro netting the game-winner in the next two games at the Nassau Coliseum. After Washington bounced back to take Game 5, the Islanders recorded a 5-3 win in Game 6 to advance to the Patrick Division Finals. In their Game 6 win, the Islanders lost their best player Pierre Turgeon who was given a cheap shot after giving New York a 5-1 lead in the third period by Dale Hunter, who was given a record 21-game suspension for the start of the following season.
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With Turgeon sidelined with a separated shoulder, the Islanders went into the series with the Penguins as a heavy underdog. In the opener, the Islanders stunned Pittsburgh 3-2, with shorthanded goals by Ray Ferraro and Benoit Hogue. The Penguins would record a 3-0 win in Game 2 to even the series and took the series lead with a 3-1 lead at the Nassau Coliseum. In Game 4, the Islanders again had some shorthanded magic, as Tom Fitzgerald scored twice with New York a man down to help the Islanders even the series with a 6-5 win. The two teams would split the next two games winning home games, with the Penguins winning Game 5 in Pittsburgh 6-3, while the Islanders won Game 6 at the Coliseum 7-5. Playing a big role in the series was Darius Kasparaitis who helped the Islanders keep Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr from breaking out neither would score a goal in Game 7. With the score tied 1-1 at the end of two periods, the Islanders silenced the Igloo, with goals by David Volek and Steve Thomas to take a 3-1 lead midway through the third period. With time running out, the Penguins showed why they were the best team in the NHL, as Ron Francis scored with 3:47 left and Rick Tocchet scored with one minute left to tie the game. The Penguins dominated attack time in Game 7, outshooting the Islanders 45-20. However, Glenn Healy stopped 42 shots to keep the Islanders in the game, as Volek scored his scored his second goal of the game at 5:16 of sudden death.
The Islanders would get an emotional boost in the Wales Conference Finals, with the return of Pierre Turgeon, who missed all seven games against the Penguins. However, the Islanders would be defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in five games. The Canadiens would go on to win their record 24th Stanley Cup Championship.