1990-91 NHL season

The 1990-91 NHL season was the 74th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Stanley Cup winners were the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the best of seven series 4–2 against the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers to become the first Norris Division team to appear in the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1981 realignment. The championship was the first in Penguins history. A record high 92 playoff games were held, and for the first time since the 1973 playoffs, no team was swept in a playoff series.
This was the last NHL season to end in the month of May.
==Regular Season==
===Final Standings===
====Prince of Wales Conference====
====Clarence Campbell Conference====
===Scoring Leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts
Wayne Gretzky 	Los Angeles Kings 	78	41	122	163
Brett Hull 	St. Louis Blues 	78	86	45 	131
Adam Oates 	St. Louis Blues 	61	25	90 	115
Mark Recchi 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	78	40	73 	113
John Cullen 	Pittsburgh Penguins / Hartford Whalers	78	39	71 	110
Joe Sakic 	Quebec Nordiques 	80	48	61 	109
Steve Yzerman 	Detroit Red Wings 	80	51	57 	108
Theoren Fleury	Calgary Flames 	79	51	53 	104
Al MacInnis 	Calgary Flames 	78	28	75 	103
Steve Larmer 	Chicago Blackhawks 	80	44	57 	101
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
Note: All dates in 1991
===Playoff Bracket===
===Division Semi-finals===
====Wales Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Boston vs. Hartford 	Boston vs. Hartford 	Boston vs. Hartford 	Boston vs. Hartford
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 3 	Hartford 5 	2 Boston 	 	
April 5 	Hartford 3 	4 Boston 	 	
April 7 	Boston 6 	3 Hartford 	 	
April 9 	Boston 3 	4 Hartford 	 	
April 11 	Hartford 1 	6 Boston 	 	
April 13 	Boston 3 	1 Hartford 	 	
Boston wins series 4–2	Boston wins series 4–2	Boston wins series 4–2	Boston wins series 4–2	
====Campbell Conference====
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	Chicago vs. Minnesota 	Chicago vs. Minnesota 	Chicago vs. Minnesota 	Chicago vs. Minnesota
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 4 	Minnesota 4 	3 Chicago 	OT 	
April 6 	Minnesota 2 	5 Chicago 	 	
April 8 	Chicago 6 	5 Minnesota 	 	
April 10 	Chicago 1 	3 Minnesota 	 	
April 12 	Minnesota 6 	0 Chicago 	 	
April 14 	Chicago 1 	3 Minnesota 	 	
Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	
===Division Finals===
Wales Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1"	Boston vs. Montreal 	Boston vs. Montreal 	Boston vs. Montreal 	Boston vs. Montreal
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 17 	Montreal 1 	2 Boston 	 	
April 19 	Montreal 4 	3 Boston 	OT 	
April 21 	Boston 3 	2 Montreal 	 	
April 23 	Boston 2 	6 Montreal 	 	
April 25 	Montreal 1 	4 Boston 	 	
April 27 	Boston 2 	3 Montreal 	OT 	
April 29 	Montreal 1 	2 Boston 	 	
Boston win series 4–3	Boston win series 4–3	Boston win series 4–3	Boston win series 4–3	
Campbell Conference
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	St. Louis vs. Minnesota 	St. Louis vs. Minnesota 	St. Louis vs. Minnesota 	St. Louis vs. Minnesota
Date 	Away 	Home 	 	
April 18 	Minnesota 2 	1 St. Louis 	 	
April 20 	Minnesota 2 	5 St. Louis 	 	
April 22 	St. Louis 1 	5 Minnesota 	 	
April 24 	St. Louis 4 	8 Minnesota 	 	
April 26 	Minnesota 2 	4 St. Louis 	 	
April 28 	St. Louis 2 	3 Minnesota 	 	
Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	Minnesota wins series 4–2	
===Conference Finals===
{| cellpadding="3" border="1" 	 	 	
Boston vs. Pittsburgh 	Boston vs. Pittsburgh 	Boston vs. Pittsburgh 	Boston vs. Pittsburgh
Date 	Away 	Home 	
May 1 	Pittsburgh 3 	6 Boston 	
May 3 	Pittsburgh 4 	5 Boston 	OT
May 5 	Boston 1 	4 Pittsburgh 	
May 7 	Boston 1 	4 Pittsburgh 	
May 9 	Pittsburgh 7 	2 Boston 	
May 11 	Boston 3 	5 Pittsburgh 	
Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Prince of Wales Trophy
===Finals===
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars 	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars 	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars 	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars 	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars 	Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Minnesota North Stars
Date 	Away 	Score 	Home 	Score 	Notes
May 15 	Minnesota 	5 	Pittsburgh 	4 	
May 17 	Minnesota 	1 	Pittsburgh 	4 	
May 19 	Pittsburgh 	1 	Minnesota 	3 	
May 21 	Pittsburgh 	5 	Minnesota 	3 	
May 23 	Minnesota 	4 	Pittsburgh 	6 	
May 25 	Pittsburgh 	8 	Minnesota 	0 	
Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup 	Pittsburgh wins series 4–2and Stanley Cup
Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy	Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh)wins Conn Smythe Trophy
==NHL Awards==
Presidents' Trophy: 	Chicago Blackhawks
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Pittsburgh Penguins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	Minnesota North Stars
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Dirk Graham, Chicago Blackhawks
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues
Jack Adams Award: 	Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins
King Clancy Memorial Trophy: 	Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Marty McSorley, Los Angeles Kings & Theo Fleury, Calgary Flames
Vezina Trophy: 	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
William M. Jennings Trophy: 	Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Rod Gilbert, Mike Ilitch
==All-Star Teams==
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks 	G 	Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins 	D 	Chris Chelios, Chicago Blackhawks
Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames 	D 	Brian Leetch, New York Rangers
Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles Kings 	C 	Adam Oates, St. Louis Blues
Brett Hull, St. Louis Blues 	RW 	Cam Neely, Boston Bruins
Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings	LW 	Kevin Stevens, Pittsburgh Penguins
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1990-91 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Robert Reichel, Calgary Flames
*Dominik Hasek, Chicago Blackhawks
*Keith Primeau, Detroit Red Wings
*Mike Sillinger, Detroit Red Wings
*Sergei Fedorov, Detroit Red Wings
*Bobby Holik, Hartford Whalers
*Geoff Sanderson, Hartford Whalers
*John LeClair, Montreal Canadiens
*Patrice Brisebois, Montreal Canadiens
*Sean Hill*, Montreal Canadiens
*Doug Weight*, New York Rangers
*Tony Amonte*, New York Rangers
*Mike Ricci, Philadelphia Flyers
*Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh Penguins
*Mats Sundin, Quebec Nordiques
*Owen Nolan, Quebec Nordiques
*Petr Nedved, Vancouver Canucks
*Dmitri Khristich, Washington Capitals
*Peter Bondra, Washington Capitals
*Kris Draper, Winnipeg Jets
==Last Games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1990-91 (listed with their last team):
*Gord Kluzak, Boston Bruins
*Tony McKegney, Chicago Blackhawks
*Glen Hanlon, Detroit Red Wings
*Don Maloney, New York Islanders
*Lindy Ruff, New York Rangers
*Pete Peeters, Philadelphia Flyers
*Guy Lafleur, Quebec Nordiques
*Harold Snepsts, St. Louis Blues
*Paul MacLean, St. Louis Blues
*Rick Meagher, St. Louis Blues
*Stan Smyl, Vancouver Canucks
*Joel Quenneville, Washington Capitals
==Hat Tricks==
==See Also==
*List of Stanley Cup champions
*1990 NHL Entry Draft
*42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game
*National Hockey League All-Star Game
*NHL All-Rookie Team
==References==
*Hockey Database
*http://nhl.com/