1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks season

1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
Conference1st Campbell
1990–91 record49–23–8
Home record28–8–4
Road record21–15–4
Goals for284
Goals against211
Team information
General managerMike Keenan
CoachMike Keenan
CaptainDirk Graham
Alternate captainsChris Chelios
Steve Larmer
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Larmer (44)
AssistsSteve Larmer (57)
PointsSteve Larmer (101)
Penalty minutesMike Peluso (320)
WinsEd Belfour (43)
Goals against averageJimmy Waite (2.00)

The 1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks season was the team's 65th season. After making the Conference Finals two years in a row, the Blackhawks hosted the NHL All-Star Game, and finished with 106 points winning the NHL Presidents' Trophy for best record in the league. The Hawks received terrific performances from Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Dirk Graham and rookie Ed Belfour. Hockey, it seemed, was back in Chicago, and dreams of the first Stanley Cup since 1961 were rampant. However the playoffs matched the Blackhawks with their old rivals, the Minnesota North Stars, who defeated the Hawks in the first round of the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–2. The 1990-91 edition of the Blackhawks represented the peak of the team between the Bobby Hull/Stan Mikita era and the Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane era, and is probably the greatest Blackhawks team of all time never to win the Stanley Cup.

Offseason

Coach Mike Keenan assumed the role General Manager while remaining coach, and traded fan-favorite Denis Savard to the Montreal Canadiens for Chicago native Chris Chelios in the summer of 1990. Several of the older Blackhawks (Al Secord, Bob Murray and Duane Sutter) retired.

NHL Draft

See also: 1990 NHL Entry Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 16 Karl Dykhuis (D)  Canada Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)
2 37 Ivan Droppa (D)  Czechoslovakia MHk 32 Liptovsky Mikulas (Czechoslovakia)
4 79 Chris Tucker (C)  United States Bloomington Jefferson High School (USHS-MN)
6 121 Brett Stickney (C)  United States St. Paul's School (USHS-NH)
6 124 Derek Edgerly (C)  United States Stoneham High School (USHS-MA)
8 163 Hugo Belanger (LW)  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC)
9 184 Owen Lessard (LW)  Canada Owen Sound Platers (OHL)
10 205 Erik Peterson (C)  United States Brockton High School (USHS-MA)
11 226 Steve Dubinsky (C)  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC)
12 247 Dino Grossi (F)  Canada Northeastern University (Hockey East)
S 21 Claude Maillet (D)  Canada Merrimack College (Hockey East)

Regular season

The Blackhawks played at a high level all season as they won the Norris Division, the Western Conference regular season, and their first Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL with a record of 49–23–8 – good for 106 points. The Hawks edged St. Louis for all three titles as the Blues finished second with 105 points on the last day of the season with a win over the Red Wings. In addition to winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best team during the regular season, the Blackhawks also were the NHL's best defense, having allowed only 211 goals over 80 games. Despite being the most penalized team during the regular season, with 425 short-handed situations, the Blackhawks had a penalty-killing percentage of 84.00%, good enough for 2nd place in the league. The Blackhawks also led the NHL in short-handed goals scored, with 20.[1]

On October 25, 1990, Steve Larmer scored just 8 seconds into the overtime period to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 home win over the Washington Capitals.[2] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1990-91 NHL regular season.[3]

All-Star Game

The 42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game took place in Chicago Stadium, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, on January 19, 1991. The game saw the team of Campbell conference all-stars beat the team of Wales conference all-stars 11–5.

While the game was high-scoring and exciting, the real story was the emotions. First from a hockey perspective, Chicago had not hosted an All-Star Game since 1974, and the Blackhawks resurgence was fueled by three All-Stars – Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick (his first), and Chris Chelios, all of whom received great ovations from the hometown fans during introductions. The second, larger perspective was that the game was played during the war with Iraq, and Operation Desert Storm had just started two days earlier. Some players asked that the game be delayed, but the league pressed on and players wore decals on their helmets supporting the troops. When Wayne Messmer stepped to the microphone and the organ began to play the pre-game National Anthem, the roar from the Chicago Stadium crowd, many of whom waved flags and sparklers, was deafening and sustained over the length of the song, totally overwhelming the performance, and creating a patriotic moment of history that transcended the sport.

Season standings

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Chicago Blackhawks 80 49 23 8 284 211 106
St. Louis Blues 80 47 22 11 310 250 105
Detroit Red Wings 80 34 38 8 273 298 76
Minnesota North Stars 80 27 39 14 256 266 68
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 23 46 11 241 318 57

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Campbell Conference[5]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Chicago Blackhawks NRS 80 49 23 8 284 211 106
2 St. Louis Blues NRS 80 47 22 11 310 250 105
3 Los Angeles Kings SMY 80 46 24 10 340 254 102
4 Calgary Flames SMY 80 46 26 8 344 263 100
5 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 37 37 6 272 272 80
6 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 34 38 8 273 298 76
7 Minnesota North Stars NRS 80 27 39 14 256 266 68
8 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 28 43 9 243 315 65
9 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 26 43 11 260 288 63
10 Toronto Maple Leafs NRS 80 23 46 11 241 318 57

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 4, 1990 4–3 New York Rangers (1990–91) 1–0–0
2 W October 6, 1990 5–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 2–0–0
3 L October 7, 1990 2–4 New York Islanders (1990–91) 2–1–0
4 W October 11, 1990 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) 3–1–0
5 W October 13, 1990 4–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 4–1–0
6 L October 14, 1990 1–3 Calgary Flames (1990–91) 4–2–0
7 L October 16, 1990 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 4–3–0
8 W October 18, 1990 3–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 5–3–0
9 L October 20, 1990 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 5–4–0
10 W October 21, 1990 7–1 Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 6–4–0
11 W October 25, 1990 3–2 OT Washington Capitals (1990–91) 7–4–0
12 L October 27, 1990 4–5 @ Boston Bruins (1990–91) 7–5–0
13 W October 28, 1990 2–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) 8–5–0
14 W November 1, 1990 6–2 Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) 9–5–0
15 W November 3, 1990 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) 10–5–0
16 L November 4, 1990 0–2 Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) 10–6–0
17 T November 6, 1990 1–1 OT @ Hartford Whalers (1990–91) 10–6–1
18 W November 8, 1990 5–3 Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) 11–6–1
19 W November 10, 1990 5–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 12–6–1
20 T November 11, 1990 3–3 OT Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) 12–6–2
21 W November 14, 1990 3–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 13–6–2
22 W November 16, 1990 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1990–91) 14–6–2
23 W November 17, 1990 7–2 @ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) 15–6–2
24 W November 20, 1990 3–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) 16–6–2
25 L November 21, 1990 1–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) 16–7–2
26 W November 24, 1990 5–3 @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) 17–7–2
27 L November 29, 1990 1–5 Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 17–8–2
28 L December 1, 1990 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 17–9–2
29 W December 2, 1990 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 18–9–2
30 W December 6, 1990 5–2 New York Islanders (1990–91) 19–9–2
31 W December 8, 1990 2–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 20–9–2
32 L December 9, 1990 4–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) 20–10–2
33 W December 11, 1990 4–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) 21–10–2
34 W December 13, 1990 5–4 Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) 22–10–2
35 L December 15, 1990 1–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 22–11–2
36 W December 16, 1990 5–2 Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 23–11–2
37 W December 19, 1990 3–2 Washington Capitals (1990–91) 24–11–2
38 L December 22, 1990 0–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 24–12–2
39 W December 23, 1990 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 25–12–2
40 T December 26, 1990 6–6 OT St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 25–12–3
41 L December 28, 1990 0–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) 25–13–3
42 W December 29, 1990 3–1 @ New York Islanders (1990–91) 26–13–3
43 W December 31, 1990 4–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 27–13–3
44 W January 3, 1991 5–3 New Jersey Devils (1990–91) 28–13–3
45 L January 6, 1991 1–3 Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) 28–14–3
46 W January 10, 1991 7–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 29–14–3
47 W January 11, 1991 3–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91) 30–14–3
48 W January 13, 1991 5–3 Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 31–14–3
49 T January 16, 1991 2–2 OT @ New Jersey Devils (1990–91) 31–14–4
50 W January 17, 1991 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1990–91) 32–14–4
51 L January 24, 1991 4–5 Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) 32–15–4
52 W January 26, 1991 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 33–15–4
53 W January 28, 1991 1–0 @ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) 34–15–4
54 L February 1, 1991 3–4 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91) 34–16–4
55 L February 2, 1991 1–3 @ Calgary Flames (1990–91) 34–17–4
56 W February 6, 1991 8–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) 35–17–4
57 L February 9, 1991 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1990–91) 35–18–4
58 L February 10, 1991 1–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1990–91) 35–19–4
59 W February 14, 1991 2–1 OT Quebec Nordiques (1990–91) 36–19–4
60 T February 17, 1991 3–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 36–19–5
61 L February 18, 1991 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91) 36–20–5
62 W February 21, 1991 4–1 Boston Bruins (1990–91) 37–20–5
63 T February 23, 1991 3–3 OT @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 37–20–6
64 W February 24, 1991 6–2 St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 38–20–6
65 L February 26, 1991 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 38–21–6
66 W February 28, 1991 6–3 Hartford Whalers (1990–91) 39–21–6
67 W March 3, 1991 8–0 Vancouver Canucks (1990–91) 40–21–6
68 L March 6, 1991 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1990–91) 40–22–6
69 W March 8, 1991 5–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91) 41–22–6
70 W March 10, 1991 5–2 New York Rangers (1990–91) 42–22–6
71 W March 14, 1991 6–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91) 43–22–6
72 W March 16, 1991 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 44–22–6
73 W March 17, 1991 6–4 St. Louis Blues (1990–91) 45–22–6
74 T March 21, 1991 2–2 OT New Jersey Devils (1990–91) 45–22–7
75 W March 23, 1991 7–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91) 46–22–7
76 W March 24, 1991 5–4 Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 47–22–7
77 T March 26, 1991 2–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 47–22–8
78 W March 28, 1991 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91) 48–22–8
79 L March 30, 1991 1–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91) 48–23–8
80 W March 31, 1991 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1990–91) 49–23–8

[6]

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Steve Larmer RW 80 44 57 101 79 37 17 2 9
Jeremy Roenick C 79 41 53 94 80 38 15 4 10
Michel Goulet LW 74 27 38 65 65 27 9 0 1
Chris Chelios D 77 12 52 64 192 23 5 2 2
Steve Thomas LW 69 19 35 54 129 8 2 0 3
Adam Creighton C 72 22 29 51 135 0 10 2 6
Dirk Graham W 80 24 21 45 88 12 4 6 7
Doug Wilson D 51 11 29 40 32 25 6 1 1
Troy Murray C 75 14 23 37 74 13 4 0 2
Wayne Presley RW 71 15 19 34 122 11 1 0 3
Dave Manson D 75 14 15 29 191 20 6 1 2
Greg Gilbert LW 72 10 15 25 58 6 1 0 0
Mike Hudson C/LW 55 7 9 16 62 5 0 0 1
Trent Yawney D 61 3 13 16 77 6 3 0 0
Frantisek Kucera D 40 2 12 14 32 3 1 0 0
Jocelyn Lemieux RW 67 6 7 13 119 -7 1 1 2
Steve Konroyd D 70 0 12 12 40 11 0 0 0
Keith Brown D 45 1 10 11 55 9 0 0 0
Bob McGill D 77 4 5 9 151 8 0 0 0
Mike Peluso LW 53 6 1 7 320 -3 2 0 0
Paul Gillis C 13 0 5 5 53 1 0 0 0
Mike McNeill RW 23 2 2 4 6 -1 0 1 0
Brian Noonan RW 7 0 4 4 2 -1 0 0 0
Ed Belfour G 74 0 3 3 34 0 0 0 0
Stu Grimson LW 35 0 1 1 183 -3 0 0 0
Tony McKegney LW 9 0 1 1 4 -2 0 0 0
Mike Stapleton C 7 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Jacques Cloutier G 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Dominik Hasek G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Greg Millen G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cam Russell D 3 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0
Jimmy Waite G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ed Belfour 4127 74 43 19 7 170 2.47 4 1883 1713 .910
Dominik Hasek 195 5 3 0 1 8 2.46 0 93 85 .914
Jacques Cloutier 403 10 2 3 0 24 3.57 0 175 151 .863
Jimmy Waite 60 1 1 0 0 2 2.00 0 28 26 .929
Greg Millen 58 3 0 1 0 4 4.14 0 32 28 .875
Team: 4843 80 49 23 8 208 2.58 4 2211 2003 .906

Playoffs

After reaching the Conference finals the prior two years and winning the Presidents' Trophy, hopes were extremely high entering the playoffs. The first round again reunited the Hawks with their old rivals from Minnesota who the Blackhawks needed seven games to dispatch in the prior year when the North Stars were the last place team in the division. This series however would not last seven games. The teams needed overtime to determine the winner of Game 1 at the Chicago Stadium, however it was Minnesota who emerged as the 4–3 winner. The Blackhawks won Games 2 and 3, an easy 5–2 win in Chicago, and a close 6–5 win in Minnesota. However the North Stars swept the remaining games in blowout fashion including a 6–0 shutout on the Hawks home ice in Game 5. What was looking like it could be one of the greatest seasons in Hawks history was suddenly over. Minnesota won their next two series and reached the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Jeremy Roenick C 6 3 5 8 4 2 1 0 1
Chris Chelios D 6 1 7 8 46 2 1 0 0
Steve Larmer RW 6 5 1 6 4 2 1 0 0
Warren Rychel LW 3 1 3 4 2 1 1 0 1
Doug Wilson D 5 2 1 3 2 1 2 0 0
Dirk Graham W 6 1 2 3 17 2 0 0 0
Steve Thomas LW 6 1 2 3 15 3 0 0 0
Mike Hudson C/LW 6 0 2 2 8 1 0 0 0
Keith Brown D 6 1 0 1 8 0 0 0 0
Steve Konroyd D 6 1 0 1 8 1 0 0 0
Adam Creighton C 6 0 1 1 10 0 0 0 0
Greg Gilbert LW 5 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0
Dominik Hasek G 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Dave Manson D 6 0 1 1 36 2 0 0 0
Troy Murray C 6 0 1 1 12 0 0 0 0
Wayne Presley RW 6 0 1 1 38 0 0 0 0
Ed Belfour G 6 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Paul Gillis C 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Stu Grimson LW 5 0 0 0 46 -1 0 0 0
Jocelyn Lemieux RW 4 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Bob McGill D 5 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Tony McKegney LW 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Mike Peluso LW 3 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Cam Russell D 1 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0
Trent Yawney D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ed Belfour 295 6 2 4 20 4.07 0 183 163 .891
Dominik Hasek 69 3 0 0 3 2.61 0 39 36 .923
Team: 364 6 2 4 23 3.79 0 222 199 .896

[7]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ "1990-91 NHL Summary".
  2. ^ "Hawks and Larmer Edge Capitals in Ot".
  3. ^ "1990-91 NHL Schedule and Results".
  4. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ^ "1990-1991 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  6. ^ "1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  7. ^ "1990-91 Chicago Blackhawks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2009.