What do Patric Hornqvist, Kris Letang, Max Talbot, Ron Francis, and Ulf Samuelsson have in common? If you answered, “they all played for the Pittsburgh Penguins” you aren’t wrong but that’s not exactly what we’re going for. All five of these players have one very specific accomplishment in common that the likes of Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, and Evgeni Malkin haven’t achieved. Each of these players scored Stanley Cup Clinching Goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those five franchise-altering goals are ranked below
#5 Ulf Samuelsson (1991)
It was the first Stanley Cup clinching goal for a Pittsburgh Penguins franchise that suffered through their first 20-plus years of existence. The Penguins entered this game coming off of two straight wins, giving them their first Finals lead in franchise history. Just two minutes into the game the Penguins were on the Powerplay thanks to an interference call to North Stars Center Neal Broten. Bryan Trottier won the offensive zone faceoff back to Penguins defenseman Peter Taglianetti, who shuffled the puck over to his D partner Samuelsson. Ulf then sent a seeing-eye wrist shot towards the net, beating Minnesota goaltender Jon Casey who was partially screened by Penguins forward Bob Errey.
It may have been the first of its kind, but it was the least significant to its particular game as the Penguins went on to route the Minnesota North Stars 8-0. The only Penguins cup clinching game to be decided by more than one goal. Mario Lemieux added a goal and three assists, and Tom Barrasso stopped all 39 of the shots he faced to put away the North Stars in game 6.
#4 Ron Francis (1992)
The 1992 Stanley Cup Playoffs may not have seemed like a close contest as the Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks four games to none, but all but one game was decided by just one goal. Most people remember the game one comeback that included Jaromir Jagr’s insane individual effort to tie the game up in the final five minutes. Game four was another instant classic. The Pens chased NHL Legend Ed Belfour just six minutes into the game. Almost halfway through the third period with the Penguins up 5-4 Blackhawks defenseman Brent Sutter failed to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Ron Francis capitalized on the mistake taking the puck at center ice and skating into the zone before blasting a slapshot past Dominik Hasek. Jeremy Roenick would bring the Hawks back to within one, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Pens win 6-5.
There’s nothing more nostalgic than watching an all-time great blast a slap shot from between the dots. Although his four goals allowed might not make it seem like it, Dominik Hasek played out of his mind during this game, shutting down the Penguins throughout the majority of the second and third periods. Francis’ goal provided the extra push the Penguins needed to hold off the Blackhawks in Game 4, but it doesn’t find itself higher on this list due to the length of the series.
#3 Kris Letang (2016)
The Penguins had reached the Finals for the first time since 2009, and boasted their best team since the early 1990s. Pittsburgh held a 3-2 lead in the series but had controlled play in all but one game throughout the series. They had just squandered a chance to finish off the Sharks on home ice which would’ve made them the only Penguins team to accomplish that feat. With the game tied at one in the second period, Letang skated the puck down the far boards and behind the net. After an attempt to throw the puck to the front of the net failed, Sidney Crosby picked up the puck and powered behind the net before sliding a pass back to Letang, who had continued skating to the near side goal line. Letang one-timed the pass from Crosby, sending it through Martin Jones legs and into the back of the net.
Breaking a seven-year Stanley Cup drought for the Crosby Era Penguins was a massive deal. However, it seemed a case of if and not when the Penguins would put away the Sharks. The goal itself is impressive, as Letang showed off both his skating ability and his hockey IQ, while Crosby took little time to switch from gathering a rebound to sending a perfect pass to his teammate on the opposite side of the net. The bottom line is, the Penguins had a determined group in 2016 that few believe would’ve dropped a Game 7 if San Jose were able to survive Game 6.
#2 Patric Hornqvist (2017)
Moving on from the first Cup-clinching goal to the most recent in 2017, far from the pressure of bringing the first championship to the Penguins. The Pens went into game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup final following a dominant performance in Game 5 in Pittsburgh winning by a score of 6-0. However, one thing they hadn’t done in the series, defeat the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Game six provided a low-scoring, heart-stopping performance by both teams. The stalemate seemed to be broken by Nashville in the second period, but the referee thought Penguins Matt Murray had covered the puck and blew the play dead. As time went on it seemed as if neither goaltender would give an inch until late in the third period. With just over 90 seconds remaining in regulation Pens defenseman Justin Schultz took a shot from the point that would soar wide right. However, the puck bounced off the end boards towards the front of the net where Patric Hornqvist swatted the puck out of the air, off of Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne’s shoulder, and into the back of the net. Carl Hagelin would tack on a late empty net goal, and the Penguins finished off the Predators 2-0.
This series was much more competitive than the 2016 Finals, as the teams were much more evenly matched. While the Penguins had won all three games at PPG Paints Arena during this series, a winner take all game 7 could’ve gone either way, and would’ve hinged on the performance of Predators Goaltender Pekka Rinne. Hornqvist’s goal in the waning moments of Game 6 prevented that from happening as he clinched back to back Stanley Cups for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
#1 Max Talbot (2009)
Is there a more folk hero like figure in Pittsburgh hockey than Max Talbot. The only Stanley Cup Game 7 in Pittsburgh Penguins history belongs to Max Talbot. Yes, Fleury’s last-second save on the legendary Niklas Lidstrom is also burned into the memory of Penguins fans, but that save doesn’t matter nearly as much without Talbot’s heroic performance. The game-winner, his second goal of the game, was on a two on one and Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood cheated just a little to his right. Talbot made no mistake sending the puck into the upper right-hand corner of the net to extend the Pens lead to 2-0.
Talbot’s performance on that evening in 2009 will never be forgotten among Pittsburgh hockey fans, and as such it is my top ranked Cup-clinching goal. Apart from being a timely goal in a one goal game, it helped put away a Detroit Red Wings team full of Hall of Famers, who had defeated Pittsburgh less than a year prior. With that shot, Max Talbot etched his name into Pittsburgh Sports history as well as the top of the list.
How do you rank these Cup-clinching goals? Let me know your list by commenting on this post or on social media @IceBurghPodcast.
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