1991–92 Edmonton Oilers season

1991–92 Edmonton Oilers
Division3rd Smythe
Conference6th Campbell
1991–92 record36–34–10
Home record22–13–5
Road record14–21–7
Goals for295 (6th)
Goals against297 (16th)
Team information
General managerGlen Sather
CoachTed Green
CaptainKevin Lowe
Alternate captainsCraig MacTavish
Esa Tikkanen
ArenaNorthlands Coliseum
Average attendance16,179 (92.4%)
Minor league affiliate(s)Cape Breton Oilers (AHL)
Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsVincent Damphousse (38)
AssistsVincent Damphousse (51)
PointsVincent Damphousse (89)
Penalty minutesDave Manson (220)
Plus/minusNorm Maciver (+20)
WinsBill Ranford (27)
Goals against averageBill Ranford (3.58)

The 1991–92 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' 13th season in the National Hockey League (NHL), and they were coming off a third-round playoff appearance in 1990–91, losing to the Minnesota North Stars in the Campbell Conference finals.

Prior to the season, the Oilers were involved in a couple of blockbuster deals, the first one occurring on September 19, as Edmonton traded Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, and Craig Berube to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Scott Thornton, and Luke Richardson. A little over two weeks later, the Oilers then dealt Mark Messier to the New York Rangers for Bernie Nicholls, Steven Rice, and Louie DeBrusk. Edmonton also named Ted Green as head coach as John Muckler left the Oilers for a job with the Buffalo Sabres.

Vincent Damphousse was the Oilers leader offensively, scoring a team high 38 goals and 51 assists for 89 points. Joe Murphy had a solid season, earning 82 points. Bernie Nicholls missed 31 games due to injury but recorded 49 points in the 49 games he played in. Defensively, Dave Manson anchored the blueline, leading all defensemen with 15 goals and 47 points and led the club in penalty minutes with 220. Fellow blueliner Norm MacIver earned 40 points in 59 games.

In goal, Bill Ranford appeared in 67 of the Oilers 80 games, winning 27 of them, and he posted a GAA of 3.58, and he earned a shutout along the way.

In the playoffs, the Oilers faced against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings, who finished two points ahead of Edmonton in the standings. The teams split the first four games, before Edmonton took control of the series, winning Game 5 in LA and taking the series with a solid 3–0 win in Game 6. The Oilers faced the regular season division champion Vancouver Canucks in the second round, and after splitting the opening two games in Vancouver, the Oilers won the next two games at home to take a 3–1 series lead. The Oilers lost Game 5 in Vancouver but won the series at home in the sixth game, setting up a matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks for the Campbell Conference championship. Chicago proved too much for the Oilers to handle, as Chicago swept the series, outscoring Edmonton 21–8.

This was the Oilers' eighth conference final appearance in 10 years, and their third in a row. However, the Oilers did not advance this far in the playoffs again until 2006.

Season standings

Smythe Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Vancouver Canucks 80 42 26 12 285 250 96
Los Angeles Kings 80 35 31 14 287 250 84
Edmonton Oilers 80 36 34 10 295 297 82
Winnipeg Jets 80 33 32 15 251 244 81
Calgary Flames 80 31 37 12 296 305 74
San Jose Sharks 80 17 58 5 219 359 39
Campbell Conference[2]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Detroit Red Wings NRS 80 43 25 12 320 256 98
2 Vancouver Canucks SMY 80 42 26 12 285 250 96
3 Chicago Blackhawks NRS 80 36 29 15 257 236 87
4 Los Angeles Kings SMY 80 35 31 14 287 296 84
5 St. Louis Blues NRS 80 36 33 11 279 266 83
6 Edmonton Oilers SMY 80 36 34 10 295 297 82
7 Winnipeg Jets SMY 80 33 32 15 251 244 81
8 Calgary Flames SMY 80 31 37 12 296 305 74
9 Minnesota North Stars NRS 80 32 42 6 246 278 70
10 Toronto Maple Leafs NRS 80 30 43 7 234 294 67
11 San Jose Sharks SMY 80 17 58 5 219 359 39

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe
bold – Qualified for playoffs


Schedule and results

# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 October 4 Edmonton Oilers 2–9 Calgary Flames 0–1–0 0
2 October 6 Los Angeles Kings 2–2 Edmonton Oilers 0–1–1 1
3 October 8 Edmonton Oilers 3–6 Los Angeles Kings 0–2–1 1
4 October 10 Edmonton Oilers 2–3 St. Louis Blues 0–3–1 1
5 October 12 Calgary Flames 1–3 Edmonton Oilers 1–3–1 3
6 October 15 Edmonton Oilers 1–3 Detroit Red Wings 1–4–1 3
7 October 17 Edmonton Oilers 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks 1–5–1 3
8 October 19 Edmonton Oilers 4–2 New York Islanders 2–5–1 5
9 October 20 Edmonton Oilers 4–3 New York Rangers 3–5–1 7
10 October 23 Washington Capitals 6–5 Edmonton Oilers 3–6–1 7
11 October 26 Vancouver Canucks 4–5 Edmonton Oilers 4–6–1 9
12 October 27 Edmonton Oilers 6–3 Vancouver Canucks 5–6–1 11
13 October 30 St. Louis Blues 2–2 Edmonton Oilers 5–6–2 12
14 November 1 New Jersey Devils 3–1 Edmonton Oilers 5–7–2 12
15 November 3 Edmonton Oilers 2–7 Vancouver Canucks 5–8–2 12
16 November 6 New York Islanders 3–5 Edmonton Oilers 6–8–2 14
17 November 8 Edmonton Oilers 2–6 San Jose Sharks 6–9–2 14
18 November 9 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 Los Angeles Kings 6–9–3 15
19 November 13 Edmonton Oilers 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–10–3 15
20 November 14 Edmonton Oilers 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers 6–11–3 15
21 November 16 Edmonton Oilers 6–2 Quebec Nordiques 7–11–3 17
22 November 18 Edmonton Oilers 0–1 Montreal Canadiens 7–12–3 17
23 November 23 Winnipeg Jets 4–0 Edmonton Oilers 7–13–3 17
24 November 27 Chicago Blackhawks 2–6 Edmonton Oilers 8–13–3 19
25 November 29 San Jose Sharks 4–4 Edmonton Oilers 8–13–4 20
26 December 1 Vancouver Canucks 0–7 Edmonton Oilers 9–13–4 22
27 December 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Edmonton Oilers 10–13–4 24
28 December 6 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 Winnipeg Jets 10–13–5 25
29 December 8 San Jose Sharks 1–3 Edmonton Oilers 11–13–5 27
30 December 10 Edmonton Oilers 7–4 Vancouver Canucks 12–13–5 29
31 December 12 Edmonton Oilers 3–6 San Jose Sharks 12–14–5 29
32 December 14 Winnipeg Jets 5–7 Edmonton Oilers 13–14–5 31
33 December 15 Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Edmonton Oilers 13–15–5 31
34 December 18 Edmonton Oilers 7–5 Toronto Maple Leafs 14–15–5 33
35 December 20 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 Buffalo Sabres 14–15–6 34
36 December 21 Edmonton Oilers 3–6 Boston Bruins 14–16–6 34
37 December 23 Calgary Flames 3–5 Edmonton Oilers 15–16–6 36
38 December 28 Los Angeles Kings 9–4 Edmonton Oilers 15–17–6 36
39 December 29 Montreal Canadiens 3–1 Edmonton Oilers 15–18–6 36
40 January 2 Edmonton Oilers 3–5 Los Angeles Kings 15–19–6 36
41 January 4 Edmonton Oilers 3–2 Calgary Flames 16–19–6 38
42 January 5 Calgary Flames 3–2 Edmonton Oilers 16–20–6 38
43 January 8 Edmonton Oilers 2–5 Winnipeg Jets 16–21–6 38
44 January 10 Edmonton Oilers 2–8 Buffalo Sabres 16–22–6 38
45 January 11 Edmonton Oilers 5–5 Detroit Red Wings 16–22–7 39
46 January 13 Edmonton Oilers 7–4 Minnesota North Stars 17–22–7 41
47 January 15 Vancouver Canucks 5–3 Edmonton Oilers 17–23–7 41
48 January 21 San Jose Sharks 2–9 Edmonton Oilers 18–23–7 43
49 January 23 New York Rangers 3–1 Edmonton Oilers 18–24–7 43
50 January 25 Edmonton Oilers 2–5 San Jose Sharks 18–25–7 43
51 January 28 Edmonton Oilers 5–3 Vancouver Canucks 19–25–7 45
52 January 29 Chicago Blackhawks 4–3 Edmonton Oilers 19–26–7 45
53 January 31 Hartford Whalers 1–4 Edmonton Oilers 20–26–7 47
54 February 2 Quebec Nordiques 2–8 Edmonton Oilers 21–26–7 49
55 February 5 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Edmonton Oilers 22–26–7 51
56 February 7 New York Islanders 2–4 Edmonton Oilers 23–26–7 53
57 February 11 Edmonton Oilers 5–4 Minnesota North Stars 24–26–7 55
58 February 13 Edmonton Oilers 3–1 Hartford Whalers 25–26–7 57
59 February 15 Edmonton Oilers 5–8 Philadelphia Flyers 25–27–7 57
60 February 16 Edmonton Oilers 5–7 Toronto Maple Leafs 25–28–7 57
61 February 19 Los Angeles Kings 3–4 Edmonton Oilers 26–28–7 59
62 February 21 Boston Bruins 5–3 Edmonton Oilers 26–29–7 59
63 February 23 Buffalo Sabres 2–5 Edmonton Oilers 27–29–7 61
64 February 26 Winnipeg Jets 1–6 Edmonton Oilers 28–29–7 63
65 February 28 Philadelphia Flyers 2–4 Edmonton Oilers 29–29–7 65
66 March 1 Edmonton Oilers 4–2 Winnipeg Jets 30–29–7 67
67 March 4 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–2 Edmonton Oilers 30–30–7 67
68 March 6 St. Louis Blues 3–5 Edmonton Oilers 31–30–7 69
69 March 11 New Jersey Devils 2–2 Edmonton Oilers 31–30–8 70
70 March 14 Hartford Whalers 1–3 Edmonton Oilers 32–30–8 72
71 March 17 Edmonton Oilers 5–6 Pittsburgh Penguins 32–31–8 72
72 March 19 Edmonton Oilers 5–3 New Jersey Devils 33–31–8 74
73 March 21 Edmonton Oilers 4–3 Boston Bruins 34–31–8 76
74 March 22 Edmonton Oilers 2–6 Washington Capitals 34–32–8 76
75 March 24 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 Calgary Flames 34–32–9 77
76 March 27 Minnesota North Stars 3–5 Edmonton Oilers 35–32–9 79
77 March 29 Los Angeles Kings 2–2 Edmonton Oilers 35–32–10 80
78 March 31 Edmonton Oilers 2–5 Calgary Flames 35–33–10 80
79 April 12 San Jose Sharks 4–6 Edmonton Oilers 36–33–10 82
80 April 14 Winnipeg Jets 6–2 Edmonton Oilers 36–34–10 82

Playoffs

Edmonton Oilers 4, Los Angeles Kings 2

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 18 Edmonton Oilers 3–1 Los Angeles Kings 1–0
2 April 20 Edmonton Oilers 5–8 Los Angeles Kings 1–1
3 April 22 Los Angeles Kings 3–4 Edmonton Oilers 2–1
4 April 24 Los Angeles Kings 4–3 Edmonton Oilers 2–2
5 April 26 Edmonton Oilers 5–2 Los Angeles Kings 3–2
6 April 28 Los Angeles Kings 0–3 Edmonton Oilers 4–2

Edmonton Oilers 4, Vancouver Canucks 2

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 May 3 Edmonton Oilers 4–3 Vancouver Canucks 1–0
2 May 4 Edmonton Oilers 0–4 Vancouver Canucks 1–1
3 May 6 Vancouver Canucks 2–5 Edmonton Oilers 2–1
4 May 8 Vancouver Canucks 2–3 Edmonton Oilers 3–1
5 May 10 Edmonton Oilers 3–4 Vancouver Canucks 3–2
6 May 12 Vancouver Canucks 0–3 Edmonton Oilers 4–2

Chicago Blackhawks 4, Edmonton Oilers 0

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 May 16 Edmonton Oilers 2–8 Chicago Blackhawks 0–1
2 May 18 Edmonton Oilers 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks 0–2
3 May 20 Chicago Blackhawks 4–3 Edmonton Oilers 0–3
4 May 22 Chicago Blackhawks 5–1 Edmonton Oilers 0–4

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Vincent Damphousse 80 38 51 89 53
Joe Murphy 80 35 47 82 52
Craig Simpson 79 24 37 61 80
Scott Mellanby 80 23 27 50 197
Bernie Nicholls 49 20 29 49 60

Goaltending

Player GP TOI W L T GA SO Save % GAA
Norm Foster 10 439 5 3 0 20 0 .891 2.73
Bill Ranford 67 3822 27 26 10 228 1 .884 3.58
Peter Ing 12 463 3 4 0 33 0 .869 4.28
Ron Tugnutt 3 124 1 1 0 10 0 .863 4.84

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Joe Murphy 16 8 16 24 12
Bernie Nicholls 16 8 11 19 25
Vincent Damphousse 16 6 8 14 8
Dave Manson 16 3 9 12 44
Esa Tikkanen 16 5 3 8 8

Goaltending

Player GP TOI W L GA SO Save % GAA
Ron Tugnutt 2 60 0 0 3 0 .912 3.00
Bill Ranford 16 909 8 8 51 2 .895 3.37

Awards and records

Awards

Records

  • 1,081: A new Oilers record for most penalty minutes in a career by defenceman by Kevin Lowe on October 8, 1991.

Transactions

Trades

May 30, 1991 To Philadelphia Flyers
Jari Kurri
Dave Brown
Corey Foster 		To Edmonton Oilers
Scott Mellanby
Craig Berube
Craig Fisher
June 12, 1991 To Winnipeg Jets
John LeBlanc
10th round pick in 1992 		To Edmonton Oilers
5th round pick in 1991
September 11, 1991 To Boston Bruins
6th round pick in 1992 		To Edmonton Oilers
Norm Foster
September 19, 1991 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Glenn Anderson
Grant Fuhr
Craig Berube 		To Edmonton Oilers
Vincent Damphousse
Luke Richardson
Peter Ing
Scott Thornton
Future considerations
Cash
October 2, 1991 To Chicago Blackhawks
Steve Smith 		To Edmonton Oilers
Dave Manson
3rd round pick in 1992
October 4, 1991 To New York Rangers
Mark Messier 		To Edmonton Oilers
Bernie Nicholls
Steven Rice
Louie DeBrusk
October 7, 1991 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ken Linseman 		To Edmonton Oilers
Cash
November 12, 1991 To New York Rangers
Jeff Beukeboom 		To Edmonton Oilers
David Shaw
January 12, 1992 To New Jersey Devils
Troy Mallette 		To Edmonton Oilers
David Maley
January 21, 1992 To Minnesota North Stars
David Shaw 		To Edmonton Oilers
Brian Glynn
February 22, 1992 To Detroit Red Wings
Max Middendorf 		To Edmonton Oilers
Bill McDougall
March 10, 1992 To Quebec Nordiques
Martin Rucinsky 		To Edmonton Oilers
Ron Tugnutt
Brad Zavisha

Free agents

Player Former Team
F Dean Antos Northern Michigan Wildcats (NCAA)
Player New Team
F Brad Aitken Toronto Maple Leafs
F Adam Graves New York Rangers

Draft picks

Edmonton's draft picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, the Oilers had two picks in the first round as part of the Wayne Gretzky trade.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 12 Tyler Wright  Canada Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
1 20 Martin Rucinsky  Czechoslovakia Chemopetrol Litvínov (Czechoslovakia)
2 34 Andrew Verner  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3 56 George Breen  United States Cushing Academy (USHS-MA)
4 78 Mario Nobili  Canada Verdun Collège Français (QMJHL)
5 93 Ryan Haggerty  United States Westminster High School (USHS-CT)
7 144 David Oliver  Canada University of Michigan (NCAA)
8 166 Gary Kitching  Canada Thunder Bay Flyers (USHL)
10 210 Vegar Barlie  Norway Vålerenga (Norway)
11 232 Evgeny Belosheikin  Soviet Union CSKA Moscow (Russia)
12 254 Juha Riihijärvi  Finland Oulun Kärpät (Finland)
S 18 Tom Holdeman  United States Miami University (CCHA)

References

  1. ^ "1991-1992 Division Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  2. ^ "1991-1992 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007