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"Twenty Years Later" is a segment with a highly unimaginative name which will appear on Empty Netters throughout the 2011-12 season. We will examine the Penguins' 1991-92 season which led to the second Stanley Cup title in franchise history. We will look back on games on a particular date and catch up with former players, coaches, executives and media members who were a part or around that team.

Today, we look at the Penguins' 7-5  loss to the Rangers, Dec. 21, 1991.

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The Penguins had a two-game winning streak snapped at the Civic Arena. Left winger Kevin Stevens opened the scoring at 1:36 of the first period with a power play goal against goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. Assists went to center Mario Lemieux and right winger Mark Recchi.

Lemieux gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead at 8:08 of the period with an unassisted goal.

Late in the period, center Mark Messier put the Rangers on the scoreboard with a power-play goal off a rebound at 19:36 against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Center Darren Turcotte and defenseman Brian Leetch had assists.

Less than half a minute later, Messier scored to tie the game, 2-2, at 19:58. Assists went to left winger Adam Graves and defenseman James Patrick.

At 11:02 of the second period, center Sergei Nemchinov scored to give New York a 3-2 lead. Right winger Joe Kocur and defenseman Mark Hardy netted assists.

The Penguins tied the game, 3-3, when right winger Jaromir Jagr scored a power-play goal off assists from defenseman Larry Murphy and Lemieux at 14:57.

A goal by right winger Joe Mullen put the Penguins up 4-3 at 16:12. Stevens and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson netted assists.

An unassited goal by left winger Kris King at 6:21 of the third period tied the game again, 4-4.

Right winger Jan Erixon put New York up, 5-4, just over a minute later at 7:48. Assists went to Nemchinov and defenseman Jeff Beukeboom.

Graves scored the evenutal game-winning goal at 9:36 off assists from right winger Tony Amonte and Messier.

Amonte added an insurance goal at 11:42. Messier had the only assist.

Murphy scored the game's final goal at 19:56 on a power play. Stevens and defenseman Paul Coffey had assists.

Notes:

-Barrasso made 28 saves in the loss.

-The game's three stars were: 1.)  Messier 2.) Nemchinov 3.) Lemieux.

-Samuelsson returned to the lineup after missing four games due to an elbow injury.

Statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Kevin Stevens, LW	34	27	29	56
Mario Lemieux, C	31	23	33	56
Paul Coffey, D	34	7	35	42
Mark Recchi, RW	34	18	21	39
Joe Mullen, RW	34	17	23	39
Jaromir Jagr, RW	34	12	23	36
Larry Murphy, D	33	5	19	24
Bob Errey, LW	33	9	8	17
Ron Francis, C	24	8	9	17
Phil Bourque, LW	28	4	10	14
Gordie Roberts, D	32	2	11	13
Troy Loney, LW	31	3	7	10
Bryan Trottier, C	25	4	5	9
Jiri Hrdina, C	19	3	6	9
Jamie Leach, RW	22	4	3	7
Ken Priestlay, C	29	2	4	6
Ulf Samuelsson, D	20	0	5	5
Jim Paek, D	30	0	4	4
Grant Jennings, D	26	2	1	3
Paul Stanton, D	14	1	2	3
Peter Taglianetti, D	26	0	2	2
Glenn Mulvenna, C	1	0	0	0
Todd Nelson, D	1	0	0	0
Jeff Daniels, LW	2	0	0	0
Jay Caufield, RW	15	0	0	0

Patrick Division standings:

	Record	Points
Capitals	24-10-1	49
Rangers	22-12-1	45
Penguins	18-12-4	40
Devils	16-12-5	37
Flyers	11-16-6	28
Islanders	11-16-5	27

Also in the news that day:

-The former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan officially joined the Commonwealth of Independent States.

(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)

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