1991–92 Edmonton Oilers season

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.

1991–92 Edmonton Oilers
Division	3rd Smythe
Conference	6th Campbell
1991–92 record	36–34–10
Home record	22–13–5
Road record	14–21–7
Goals for	295 (6th)
Goals against	297 (16th)
Team information
General manager	Glen Sather
Coach	Ted Green
Captain	Kevin Lowe
Alternate captains	Craig MacTavish Esa Tikkanen
Arena	Northlands Coliseum
Average attendance	16,179 (92.4%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cape Breton Oilers (AHL) Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Vincent Damphousse (38)
Assists	Vincent Damphousse (51)
Points	Vincent Damphousse (89)
Penalty minutes	Dave Manson (220)
Plus/minus	Norm Maciver (+20)
Wins	Bill Ranford (27)
Goals against average	Bill Ranford (3.58)
← 1990–91 1992–93 →

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

1991–92 regular season[3]
October Game 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
November Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
December Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
January Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
February Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
March Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
April Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts 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
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1992 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Smythe Division Semifinals vs. (S2) Los Angeles Kings – Oilers win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 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
Smythe Division Finals vs. (S1) Vancouver Canucks – Oilers win 4–2 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 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
Campbell Conference Finals vs. (N2) Chicago Blackhawks – Blackhawks win 4–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series 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
Legend:   Win   Loss

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)