1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season
| 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Northeast |
| Conference | 6th Eastern |
| 1996–97 record | 38–36–8 |
| Home record | 25–11–5 |
| Road record | 13–25–3 |
| Goals for | 285 |
| Goals against | 280 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Craig Patrick |
| Coach |
Eddie Johnston Craig Patrick |
| Captain | Mario Lemieux |
| Alternate captains |
Ron Francis Jaromir Jagr |
| Arena | Civic Arena |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Mario Lemieux (50) |
| Assists | Mario Lemieux (72) |
| Points | Mario Lemieux (122) |
| Penalties in minutes | Dave Roche (155) |
| Wins | Patrick Lalime (21) |
| Goals against average | Patrick Lalime (2.94) |
The 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the team's 30th in the National Hockey League. This was the final season for Mario Lemieux before his first retirement.
The 1996–97 season featured Mario Lemieux in his final season before his first retirement. Lemieux won his sixth (and final) Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, with 122 points. The Penguins had an up-and-down season en route to a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. A 2–9–0 start was followed by a hot middle-of-the-season stretch, highlighted by the play of rookie phenom goaltender Patrick Lalime. A shoulder injury to Tom Barrasso ended his season after five unmemorable games and led to the promotion of Lalime from the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL). Lalime debuted in relief of Ken Wregget in a loss to the New York Rangers on November 16. His first win came in relief of Wregget on December 6, and the next day, on December 7, he was given the start against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, beating the Mighty Dcuks and setting him well on his way to setting the NHL record for consecutive games unbeaten to begin a career for an NHL goaltender, going 14–0–2 (16 games). However, the Penguins cooled down after that, as the team did not win a road game after February 5, which led to a coaching change on March 4. Eddie Johnston was relieved of his duties as head coach after losing eight of his last nine games and was replaced on an interim basis by General Manager Craig Patrick. Patrick went 7–10–3 down the stretch, enough to get the Penguins into the playoffs as the sixth seed at 38–36–8. The Penguins finished the season first in scoring, with 285 goals for.
In the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals, the Penguins took-on the third-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers dismantled the Penguins in five games en route to an Eastern Conference championship of their own. The Pens' lone win in the series was in Game 4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, in which Lemieux scored on a breakaway against Flyers goaltender Garth Snow in the closing minutes for his final goal before his first retirement.
...
Wikipedia