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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' 12-1 win again the Maple Leafs, Dec. 26, 1991.

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The Penguins won their second consecutive game at the Civic Arena. Right winger Joe Mullen opened the scoring 2:55 into the game and gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead with a re-direction goal against goaltender Grant Fuhr. Left winger Kevin Stevens and center Mario Lemieux recorded assists.

Right winger Kevin Maguire scored the Maple Leafs' only goal at 4:36 of the first period against goaltender Tom Barrasso. Assists went to left winger Mike Krushelnyski and defenseman Todd Gill.

Mullen scored the eventual game-winning goal with a wrister from the left circle on a power play at the 17:03 mark off assists from Lemieux and Stevens.

Left winger Bob Errey scored at 19:10 to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead off assists from right winger Mark Recchi and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson.

Just 27 seconds into the second period, right winger Jaromir Jagr scored on a backhander to make it a 4-1 game. Center Jiri Hrdina recorded the only assist.

At 15:08, center Ron Francis scored a power-play goal on a re-direction to give the Penguins a 5-1 lead. Assists went to Lemieux and Recchi.

Lemieux scored his 25th goal of the season with a breakaway at the 16:16 mark off assists from Mullen and Stevens.

Lemieux got his second goal of the game on a rebound at 1:55 of the third period. Defenseman Larry Murphy and Francis recorded assists.

At the 5:24 mark, Stevens scored a fluke unassisted goal to make it an 8-1 game.

Less than half a minute later at 5:47, Mullen completed his hat trick with a backhander off assists from Lemieux and Stevens.

Mullen scored his fourth goal of the game and 25th of the season off another re-direction at 8:19. Defenseman Jim Paek had the lone assist.

At 12:17, Jagr scored his second goal of the game with a backhander off assists from center Ken Priestlay and right winger Jamie Leach.

Stevens scored the game's final goal just under a minute later at 13:15 with a backhanded re-direction. Mullen and Lemieux had assists.

Notes:

-Barrasso made 30 saves in the win.

-The three stars were 1.) Mullen 2.) Lemieux 3.) Stevens.

-Mullen became the first player in franchise history to score four goals in back to back games. To date, he is the only player in franchise history to achieve that.

-Murphy's assist was his 700th career point. He became the 10 defenseman in NHL history to reach that mark.

-Despite setting a career high for points in a game, Stevens actually lost ground in the NHL's scoring race to Lemieux.

-The Stevens-Lemieux-Mullen line produced 19 points. It was believed to be the greatest single-game output by a line in franchise history.

-Defenseman Paul Coffey left the game in the third period due to back spasms.

-The Penguins tied franchise records for most goals in a game and largest margin of victory. Both marks were originally set in a 12-1 win against the Capitals, March 15, 1975.

Statistics:

Player Position	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
Mario Lemieux, C	33	26	41	67
Kevin Stevens, LW	36	29	35	64
Joe Mullen, RW	36	25	25	50
Mark Recchi, RW	36	18	24	42
Paul Coffey, D	36	7	35	42
Jaromir Jagr, RW	36	14	23	38
Larry Murphy, D	35	5	23	28
Ron Francis, C	26	9	10	19
Bob Errey, LW	35	10	8	18
Phil Bourque, LW	29	4	10	14
Gordie Roberts, D	32	2	11	13
Jiri Hrdina, C	21	3	7	10
Troy Loney, LW	33	3	7	10
Bryan Trottier, C	25	4	5	9
Jamie Leach, RW	24	4	4	8
Ulf Samuelsson, D	22	1	7	8
Ken Priestlay, C	31	2	5	7
Jim Paek, D	32	0	5	5
Grant Jennings, D	28	2	1	3
Paul Stanton, D	16	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
Rangers	24-12-1	49
Capitals	24-12-1	49
Penguins	20-12-4	44
Devils	16-13-6	38
Flyers	12-16-6	30
Islanders	11-17-6	28

Also in the news that day:

-After a 7-9 season, Steelers coach Chuck Noll announced his retirement. In 23 seasons as the Steelers' head coach, Noll had a record of 193-148-1 and led the franchise to four Super Bowl wins.

(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards; Videos-Jay Korber)

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