Through the first five months of the Penguins’ 1990-91 regular season, the “Option Line” of John Cullen, Kevin Stevens and Mark Recchi provided a huge offensive spark that helped the team win its first division championship. The line had clearly clicked, but when Cullen was traded to the Hartford Whalers in March, it had lost its centreman.
Fortunately for the Penguins, they had a pretty fair replacement as they finished the season and moved into the playoffs: a guy named Mario Lemieux.
The Pens superstar captain returned at the end of January after sitting out the entire season to that point with back problems. After the Hartford trade, Number 66 frequently moved into the spot vacated by Cullen, often with magical results.
Case in point: Game 4 of the Patrick Division Final against the Washington Capitals, in which the three linemates combined for seven points in a 3-1 victory that gave the Pens a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.
Tom Barrasso turned in a superlative performance, stopping 38 of the 39 Capital shots. Washington outshot the Pens overall, 39-19.
“Barrasso played extremely well. He was the difference,” said Caps defenseman Rod Langway. “They kept the puck on the outside and let Barrasso see it.”
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