Penguins Update: Third Line a Key to Winning Cups
I was chewing the hockey fat with my friend, Tom Blanciak, over a couple of beers at Pennsbury Station (formerly the Pennsbury Pub & Grille) the other night. During the course of our conversation, Tom mentioned that each of our Cup-winning teams boasted strong third lines. His astute observation got the wheels a turnin’. So Tom, this one’s for you.
1991 & ’92—Troy Loney (lw), Bryan Trottier (c), Jaromir Jagr (rw)
The Pens’ Cup winners of the early ‘90s were exceedingly deep and talented, boasting no fewer than seven Hall-of-Famers. Not to mention studs like Jagr, Tom Barrasso, Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet.
Just how deep were they? Scott Young, a speedy right wing of considerable promise (he’d go on to score 40 goals for St. Louis in 2000-01) often skated on the fourth line in ’90-91 and was a frequent healthy scratch. Rather than ride the pine the following season, he played in Italy and, briefly, for the U.S. National Team.