1991 Stanley Cup Finals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Location(s) |
Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh Civic Arena) (1,2,5) Bloomington, MN (Met Center) (3,4,6) |
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Coaches | Pittsburgh: Bob Johnson Minnesota: Bob Gainey |
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Captains | Pittsburgh: Mario Lemieux Minnesota: Curt Giles |
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Dates | May 15 to May 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Mario Lemieux | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series-winning goal | Ulf Samuelsson (2:00, first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Networks |
CBC (Canada-English) SRC (Canada-French) SportsChannel America (United States) KBL (Pittsburgh Area, Games 1,2 and 5) KDKA (Pittsburgh Area, Games 3, 4 and 6) Pay-Per-View (Minnesota Area) |
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Announcers |
Bob Cole, Harry Neale and Dick Irvin, Jr. (CBC) Claude Quenneville and Gilles Tremblay (SRC) Jiggs McDonald and Bill Clement (SC America) Mike Lange and Paul Steigerwald (KBL and KDKA) Dave Hodge and Lou Nanne (PPV Minnesota) |
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The 1991 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars. It was the Penguins' first Final series appearance and their first Stanley Cup victory. This is the first and only (through 2016) Stanley Cup Final to feature two teams from the expansion group of 1967. It was Minnesota's second Final series appearance, and their last before the franchise's relocation to Dallas two years later. It was also the first time since 1983 that an American franchise would win the Stanley Cup. This was the first all-American finals since 1981, which also featured the North Stars in their first appearance.
This was also the first final since 1982 not to feature either the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers, and the first since 1981 not contested by a team from Western Canada.
The Finals, and the NHL season, ended on May 25, marking the last time to date that the Stanley Cup playoffs have not extended into the month of June.
Minnesota defeated the first-place overall Chicago Blackhawks 4–2, the second-place overall St. Louis Blues 4–2, and the defending cup champion Edmonton Oilers 4–1 to advance to the Finals. The North Stars became the first American team and first Norris Division team to win the Campbell Conference since the league re-aligned the divisions and adopted a divisional-based playoff format in 1981.
Pittsburgh defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3, the Washington Capitals 4–1 and the Boston Bruins 4–2.