1989 Penguins/Flyers Playoff Series

[c9777666]

This was a very interesting crossroads series- a young up and coming Penguins against a veteran Flyer team that, contrary to what I once though, did not have a ton of old guys (only 6 players on this roster were 30 or older), but had a lot of playoff experience and postseason mileage.

To set this up, Philly had gotten by regular season Patrick Division champ Washington in round 1, Pittsburgh swept the Rangers in 4.

Pittsburgh posted their first winning record in a long time, Philly had their first non-winning season since 1972, so it wasn’t exactly preordained.

Obviously, Mario Lemieux’s 5 goal 8 point explosion in game 5 is hard to forget:




But this series had other things going on:

-Tim Kerr (in what turned out to be his last mostly healthy season) was no scoring slouch with 10 goals and 15 points, including a 1st period hat trick in game 2

-Brian Propp, by far the longest tenured Flyer (a holdover from the 35 game unbeaten streak season), had 6 goals and 11 points

-Propp and Kerr combined to score nearly half of Philly’s goals that series (16 of 31)

-Zarley Zalapski outscored Paul Coffey (8 points to 6)

-Pittsburgh won an OT game at the Spectrum- Remember, they went eons without winning there, then won twice there in the regular season, and game 3 of this series- so now they had won 3 straight there after 15 years with zero wins!

-Tom Barrasso had an .874 save percentage, far from the playoff form he would soon display within a few years

The Flyers never led this series until they clinched (lost games 1-3-5)

-Ron Hextall chasing after Rob Brown



Hextall then was unable to go in game 7 due to a knee injury

Ken Wregget, who would one day become Barrasso’s teammate and arguably the best backup goalie in the 90s, stopped 39 shots with barely any time to prepare.

It’s fascinating to see how this series played out considering within 3 years, the Pens had back to back Cups and the Flyers had gone into a mini-decline until Lindros arrived.

It was one last hurrah for the players that represented that Flyers era, kinda like a reverse equivalent of 1985 when Philly was the young team against a grizzled veteran Islander team

Was this a classic case of “you have to lose before you learn how to win” ala Canucks/Oilers 1992 or was this the veteran team overachieving for one last moment in the sun? Could and should Pittsburgh have won this series?

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[tony d]

The yr. before I got into hockey. Seems like a good series between 2 old rivals.

 

[The Panther]

I think this series shows the Pens as a team on the rise, although their rise kind of sputtered along from 1987 to 1991. They had the 3-2 series lead and really should have pulled this one out, but the Flyers' experience came to the fore.

 

[reckoning]

I mentioned it in another thread, but I thought Game 5 of that series was Mario Lemieux's best game of his career. Not only did he have 8 points, but he made a lot of nice defensive plays as well, often stripping the puck away from a Flyer. Kjell Samuelsson, a very good player, was made to look bad on a few of those goals. But to the Flyers credit, they reasserted themselves and shut him down in Games 6 and 7.

The other thing that's noticeable when re-watching Game 5 is the great chemistry Lemieux had with Rob Brown. Sometimes on this board people act like Brown was just some bum who Lemieux turned into a great scorer; but despite Brown's post-Pens career not working out, he obviously had talent.

And then there was Ron Hextall's meltdown in that game. And in the next round, there was the infamous incident when he attacked Chris Chelios. You have to wonder how much better his career might have been if he could have contained his rage.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

The Flyers were an injury plagued team in 88-89. In the regular season, Mark Howe missed 28 games, Murray Craven 29, Tim Kerr 11, Illka Sinisalo 67, Ron Sutter 25, Rick Tocchet 14, Dave Poulin 11 and Kjell Samuelsson 11. By the time the playoffs rolled around, all of these players returned with the exception of Craven. Not coincidentally, their returns propelled the Flyers for one last run.

Kerr was a beast in this series. He played like the Tim Kerr of 1985. 10 G, with 5 on the PP, and 5 A, hat trick in game 2 and 2 goals each in games 4, 5 and 6. While Mario's 8 point game is most remembered about this series, it should be noted that Kerr's 15 points was one more than Mario's. Pittsburgh just couldn't contain Kerr.

To me, the turning point of the series was game 5. Philly was down 9-3 after two periods and in the third, the Flyers scored 4 unanswered goals to cut the deficit to 9-7. Even though they lost, I thought the Flyers served notice to Pittsburgh that they would would not go down easily. The last two games, the Flyers tightened up defensively and held the Pens to 3 goals, with Mario being held to 1 point. The Flyers won this series because of experience, resilience and getting healthy in the nick of time. Add in some clutch performances from Kerr, Poulin with a backbreaking SH goal in game 7, Propp with some timely goals, Howe steadying the blueline and Wregget's performance in game 7. The Penguins were a more talented team than the Flyers, but they still needed a few more pieces and more playoff experience.

 

[Normand Lacombe]

And then there was Ron Hextall's meltdown in that game. And in the next round, there was the infamous incident when he attacked Chris Chelios. You have to wonder how much better his career might have been if he could have contained his rage.

I agree with that premise. Hextall's career would have been better had he learned to control his temper early in his career rather than later. As it was, Hextall was very competitive, hated to give up goals and hated to lose. Those are great qualities for a goaltender to possess. But there is a fine line between being competitive and being a hothead. If Hextall makes a save, freezes the puck for a stoppage and jaws with an opposing player, there's nothing wrong with that. When Kent Nilsson skates by Hextall's crease and Hextall slashes him, that's over the line. Billy Smith wasn't called "Battling Billy" for nothing. However, I don't recall Smith chasing down a player after he scored a goal on Smith. He knew where that line was, while Hextall didn't.

Hextall was his own worst enemy sometimes. His other outbursts, like chasing refs when Hextall thought a player was in the crease, did him no favors. Hextall lost focus too often, which led to more goals. Two of his famed outbursts, Nilsson & Chelios, earned him suspensions that hurt the Flyers. By the time Hextall mellowed, he was past his prime.

 

[The Panther]

Sometimes on this board people act like Brown was just some bum who Lemieux turned into a great scorer; but despite Brown's post-Pens career not working out, he obviously had talent.

Yes, that's right -- Brown was a very talented player, but unfortunately he was tiny at the onset of the size-fetish era.

With the Kamloops Blazers at age 18, Brown put up 212 points in 63 games. He won the WHL scoring title by 66 points. He scored nearly 80 more points than Joe Sakic, in the same League, in the same season.

 

[shills]

Was this a classic case of “you have to lose before you learn how to win” ala Canucks/Oilers 1992 or was this the veteran team overachieving for one last moment in the sun? Could and should Pittsburgh have won this series?

I think this series shows the Pens as a team on the rise, although their rise kind of sputtered along from 1987 to 1991. They had the 3-2 series lead and really should have pulled this one out, but the Flyers' experience came to the fore.

I agree ... the Pens could have won the series ... but just weren't quite there yet with playoff experience and personnel depth. Still relied on Mario too much to have those 8-point nights and bail them out.

They would change a lot by 90-91 with Recchi and Stevens coming into their own ... the additions of Francis, Ulf, Murphy, Mullen, Trottier and the drafting of Jagr.

Fun series though. I remember lots of excitement around the city because this team just felt different -- like they were close to contending for the Cup -- what with Mario's 199 point season and other high scorers in Brown, Coffey, Quinn -- plus the hope that Barrasso might be the goalie they had been looking for.

That Game 5 though is one of my all-time favorites to re-watch!

Yes, that's right -- Brown was a very talented player, but unfortunately he was tiny at the onset of the size-fetish era.

With the Kamloops Blazers at age 18, Brown put up 212 points in 63 games. He won the WHL scoring title by 66 points. He scored nearly 80 more points than Joe Sakic, in the same League, in the same season.

Great thoughts on Brown ... completely agree.