1991 Stanley Cup Final

Game one

Neal Broten scored two goals in a back and forth game one for the North Stars, as did his teammate Bobby Smith, including the game-winning goal early in the third period to gave Minnesota a 5–4 victory and a 1–0 lead in the series.

Game two

Mario Lemieux scored one of the most famous goals in NHL history during the second period of game two. Receiving the puck in the Penguins' end of the ice, Lemieux skated solo into the North Stars' zone facing two defensemen (Shawn Chambers and Neil Wilkinson) as well as goaltender Jon Casey. Lemieux skirted the puck through the legs of Chambers, skated around him, baited goaltender Casey to commit left (Lemieux's right), then switched the puck to his backhand side and slid the puck into the net (before crashing into the net himself). A brief video of the goal has since been featured on Stanley Cup promotional advertisements by the NHL. Late in the third period, Pittsburgh defenseman Gordie Roberts received a major penalty for spearing and was ejected from the game. The Penguins went on to win the game 4–1, with goaltender Tom Barrasso stopping 39 of 40 shots, and Kevin Stevens scoring two goals.

Game three

Due to a disc herniation, Mario Lemieux did not dress for Pittsburgh in game three. After a scoreless first, Dave Gagner and Bobby Smith both scored in the second, and Gaetan Duchesne scored early in the third. Pittsburgh forward Kevin Stevens received a major penalty for spearing late in the game and was ejected. The North Stars went on to win the game 3–1, giving them a 2–1 lead in the series.

Game four

The Penguins won game four 5–3, with five different Pittsburgh players scoring goals. With 6:57 left in the third period, Pittsburgh forward Troy Loney hit Minnesota defenseman Mark Tinordi in the head with his stick, resulting in a major penalty and Loney being ejected from the game.

Game five

Mario Lemieux recorded three points for Pittsburgh in game five, Mark Recchi scored twice, and the Penguins defeated the North Stars 6–4.

Game six

Pittsburgh dominated game six early and often, with Joe Mullen recording two goals and an assist, and Tom Barrasso made 39 saves to record his first career playoff shutout in an 8–0 victory, which at the time was the most goals scored by a team in a Cup-clinching game, until it was surpassed by the Vegas Golden Knights in game five of 2023 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

Mario Lemieux, who recorded four points during the game, as well as a total of 44 points during the playoffs, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the postseason.

Minnesota North Stars

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#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
23		Brian Bellows	LW	R	1982	St. Catharines, Ontario	first
21		Perry Berezan	C	R	1988–89	Edmonton, Alberta	second (1986)
7		Neal Broten – A	C	L	1979	Roseau, Minnesota	second (1981)
28		Marc Bureau	C	R	1990–91	Trois-Rivières, Quebec	first
30		Jon Casey	G	L	1984–85	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	first
26		Shawn Chambers	D	L	1987	Royal Oak, Michigan	first
27		Shane Churla	RW	R	1989–90	Fernie, British Columbia	first
20		Mike Craig	RW	R	1989	St. Mary's, Ontario	first
22		Ulf Dahlen	RW	L	1989–90	Östersund, Sweden	first
4		Chris Dahlquist	D	L	1990–91	Fridley, Minnesota	first
11		Gaetan Duchesne	LW	L	1989–90	Quebec City, Quebec	first
15		Dave Gagner – A	C	L	1987–88	Chatham, Ontario	first
12		Stewart Gavin	RW	L	1988–89	Ottawa, Ontario	first
2		Curt Giles – C	D	L	1987–88	The Pas, Manitoba	second (1981) (did not play)
6		Brian Glynn	D	L	1990–91	Iserlohn, West Germany	first
1		Brian Hayward	G	L	1990–91	Georgetown, Ontario	second (1989)
8		Jim Johnson	D	L	1991–92	New Hope, Minnesota	first
17		Basil McRae – A	LW	L	1987–88	Beaverton, Ontario	first
9		Mike Modano	C	L	1988	Livonia, Michigan	first
16		Brian Propp	LW	L	1990–91	Lanigan, Saskatchewan	fifth (1980, 1985, 1987, 1990)
14		Doug Smail	LW	L	1990–91	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	first
18		Bobby Smith	C	L	1990–91	North Sydney, Nova Scotia	fourth (1981, 1986, 1989)
24		Mark Tinordi	D	L	1988–89	Red Deer, Alberta	first
5		Neil Wilkinson	D	R	1986	Selkirk, Manitoba	first

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Note: Neal Broten served as the North Stars acting team captain during the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs. Curt Giles, who was injured late in the season and played in only 10 playoff games, missing the entire finals, is listed as the official team captain.

Pittsburgh Penguins

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#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
35		Tom Barrasso	G	R	1988–89	Boston, Massachusetts	first
29		Phil Bourque	LW	L	1983–84	Chelmsford, Massachusetts	first
16		Jay Caufield	RW	R	1988–89	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	first (did not play)
77		Paul Coffey – A	D	L	1987–88	Weston, Ontario	fifth (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987)
12		Bob Errey – A	LW	L	1983	Montreal, Quebec	first
9		Ron Francis	C	L	1990–91	Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario	first
15		Randy Gilhen	C	L	1990–91	Zweibrücken, West Germany	first
23		Randy Hillier – A	D	R	1984–85	Toronto, Ontario	first (did not play)
38		Jiri Hrdina	C	L	1990–91	Prague, Czechoslovakia	second (1989)
68		Jaromir Jagr	RW	L	1990	Kladno, Czechoslovakia	first
3		Grant Jennings	D	L	1990–91	Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan	first
66		Mario Lemieux – C	C	R	1984	Montreal, Quebec	first
24		Troy Loney	LW	L	1982	Bow Island, Alberta	first
7		Joe Mullen	RW	R	1990–91	New York, New York	third (1986, 1989)
55		Larry Murphy	D	R	1989–90	Scarborough, Ontario	first
2		Jim Paek	D	L	1985	Seoul, South Korea	first
10		Barry Pederson	C	R	1991–92	Big River, Saskatchewan	first (did not play)
40		Frank Pietrangelo	G	L	1983	Niagara Falls, Ontario	first
8		Mark Recchi	RW	L	1988	Kamloops, British Columbia	first
28		Gordie Roberts	D	L	1990–91	Detroit, Michigan	second (1981)
5		Ulf Samuelsson	D	L	1990–91	Fagersta, Sweden	first
22		Paul Stanton	D	R	1985	Boston, Massachusetts	first
25		Kevin Stevens	LW	L	1983–84	Brockton, Massachusetts	first
32		Peter Taglianetti	D	L	1990–91	Framingham, Massachusetts	first
19		Bryan Trottier – A	C	L	1990–91	Val Marie, Saskatchewan	sixth (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
34		Scott Young	RW/C	R	1990–91	Clinton, Massachusetts	first
1		Wendell Young	G	L	1988–89	Halifax, Nova Scotia	first (did not play)

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Engraving notes

• #16 Jay Caufield (RW) played in only 23 games. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup because he spent the whole season with Pittsburgh.
• Pierre McGuire, Les Binkley, John Gill, Charlie Hodge, Ralph Cox were with the team as scouts in 1990–91, but names were not included on the Stanley Cup that year. All five of these scouts were awarded Stanley Cup rings.
• Randy Gilhen was the first German-born player to win the Stanley Cup, but grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
• Jim Paek was the first Korean-born hockey player to both play in the NHL, and have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
• Barry Pederson did not play a single game in the 1991 playoffs, but he qualified to get his name on the Stanley Cup and get a Stanley Cup ring because he played 46 games during the season.
• Pittsburgh filled the last spot on the bottom ring. The larger rings were filled a year early then planned. See 1965 Stanley Cup Final and 1992 Stanley Cup Final.

Player notes

• The players listed below were on the roster, but did not qualify to be included on the Stanley Cup.^[a]
  • Gord Dineen (D) – 9 regular season games
  • #20 Jamie Leach (RW) – 7 regular season games
  • #18 Ken Priestlay (C) – 2 regular season games
  • #27 Gilbert Delorme (D) – missed the whole season due to a car accident in the offseason.
  • #30 Bruce Racine (G) – was called up from the minors to serve as back-up to Frank Pietrangelo. He was dressed for the last two games of round one, and first two games of round two. Both Wendell Young (who missed first three rounds due to injury), and Tom Barrasso (missed four games due to injury) were unable to play. Racine's name was left off the Stanley Cup, because he had not played in the NHL - in fact, Racine has never played for Pittsburgh. His only NHL experience came in 1995-96 for the St. Louis Blues.
• Dineen, Leach, and Priestlay spent most of the regular season in the minors. Racine spent the entire regular season in the minors. Delorme missed the entire season due to injury.