1993 Penguins alumni discuss 17-game winning streak as Oilers look to tie NHL record

If the Edmonton Oilers beat the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, it will be win No. 17 in a row for them. That would tie the NHL record set by the 1992-93 Penguins.

“I hate when guys say they want people to break their records,” 1993 Penguins alum Rick Tocchet told NHL.com during the recent NHL All-Star Weekend. “I don’t want them to break our record. But it is impressive, and (Edmonton) is playing lights out. They’re very dangerous.”

Tocchet, now the coach of the Vancouver Canucks, recalled the good fortune that went into that streak for the 1993 Pens.

“When you win 17 in a row, and you’re on a roll like Edmonton is, there are some games you shouldn’t win,” Tocchet said. “There were a couple of games where we didn’t deserve (to win). ‘Ulfie’ (Ulf) Samuelsson scored in overtime to beat Montreal to (tie) the record. A lot of things have to go your way.” The former record had been 15 games, set by the New York Islanders in 1981-82.

Tochett had a hat trick that night, and the Pens blew a 3-2 lead late that could’ve ended the streak had Samuelsson not scored that overtime goal.

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions won their 17 in a row between March 9 and April 10. It was a rebound from an ugly 2-7-1 stretch over the previous 10 games. That bump propelled the Pens to the Presidents’ Trophy. Pittsburgh ended up with 119 points, 10 more than the Adams Division champion Boston Bruins, who had the second-highest point total.

The streak didn’t end until a 6-6 tie in the regular-season finale against the New Jersey Devils. Then the club proceeded to bounce Jersey in the first round of the playoffs 4-1 before suffering a heartbreaking, seven-game series loss against the Islanders in the Patrick Division Final.

For as memorably painful as that defeat was, the preceding 17-game streak was a coalescence of the greatness of those Penguins groups of that era. The team scored seven or more goals five times during the run. Of the 17 games, 12 times, the opponent was held to three goals or fewer. Four of the games were decided by one goal. Two in overtime.

During a recent appearance on 105.9 The X, ‘93 winger Kevin Stevens told Mark Madden that the nature of how games were decided back then made that streak all the more impressive.

“We only played the five-minute overtime, so it could end in a tie,” Stevens said. “There were no shootouts or 3-on-3. So it was just playing that five-minute thing, and it was amazing because it got to overtime a couple of times. Ulfie scored. Guys who never scored ended up scoring. That was a great streak.”

Others from that roster don’t look back on that streak so fondly. Hall of Famer Larry Murphy told me last May during our Breakfast With Benz 30th anniversary retrospective of the Game 7 loss to the Islanders that the winning streak got the Pens into some sloppy routines that eventually manifested against New York.

“I thought the worst thing that happened to our team was that winning streak at the end of the season because no matter how we played, we were winning,” Murphy said. “Maybe some bad habits crept into our game. I really think that we would have been better prepared for the playoffs if we were more battle-tested.

“What happens is when you win like that, everything slides. The attention to detail suffers from it. When you’re not winning, that’s when you really press for those details. That sense of urgency is not there, and I think that factored into what eventually happened to us.”

Some have advanced that the winning streak built up some external pressure of expectations. But 1993 defenseman Peter Taglianetti refutes that.

“We didn’t have any pressure because we knew we had a better team, and we had great leadership,” Taglianetti insisted. “Bryan Trottier, (Joey) Mullen, Tocch(et) and Mario and Ronny (Francis). We had the guys who can overcome all that stuff. But … Game 7. The theory in Game 7 is don’t pass up a shot. Just get it on the net. That’s all you need to do. Get it on net.”

Unfortunately for the Penguins, New York’s David Volek did exactly that in overtime of that fateful Game 7.

Last spring, I spoke with Craig Patrick as part of that 1993 piece. He was the general manager of that team. I asked him if there is such a thing as peaking too soon and if that happened to those Penguins.

“I don’t think so,” Patrick said. “I knew we were going to win that series. We just … didn’t.”

We’ll see what happens with the Edmonton Oilers. Not just Tuesday night, but this spring. The 1993 Penguins did their damage in the homestretch heading into the postseason. These Oilers got going at roughly the midway point.

It was obviously tough for those Penguins to stay hot into the playoffs from a streak that started in early March. Maintaining momentum for these Oilers will be even more difficult for their streak, which started four days before Christmas.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer discuss the Penguins’ return after a long layoff