1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks
Norris Division champions
Division1st Norris
Conference1st Campbell
1990–91 record49–23–8
Home record28–8–4
Road record21–15–4
Goals for284
Goals against211
Team information
General managerMike Keenan
CoachMike Keenan
CaptainDirk Graham
Alternate captainsChris Chelios
Steve Larmer
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Larmer (44)
AssistsSteve Larmer (57)
PointsSteve Larmer (101)
Penalty minutesMike Peluso (320)
WinsEd Belfour (43)
Goals against averageJimmy Waite (2.00)

The 1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks season was the team's 65th season. After making the Conference Finals two years in a row, the Blackhawks hosted the NHL All-Star Game, and finished with 106 points winning the NHL Presidents' Trophy for best record in the league. The Hawks received terrific performances from Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Dirk Graham and rookie Ed Belfour. Hockey, it seemed, was back in Chicago, and dreams of the first Stanley Cup since 1961 were rampant. However the playoffs matched the Blackhawks with their old rivals, the Minnesota North Stars, who defeated the Hawks in the first round of the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–2. The 1990-91 edition of the Blackhawks represented the peak of the team between the Bobby Hull/Stan Mikita era and the Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane era, and is probably the greatest Blackhawks team of all time never to win the Stanley Cup.

Offseason

Coach Mike Keenan assumed the role General Manager while remaining coach, and traded fan-favorite Denis Savard to the Montreal Canadiens for Chicago native Chris Chelios in the summer of 1990. Several of the older Blackhawks (Al Secord, Bob Murray and Duane Sutter) retired.

NHL Draft

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
116Karl Dykhuis (D) CanadaHull Olympiques (QMJHL)
237Ivan Droppa (D) CzechoslovakiaMHk 32 Liptovsky Mikulas (Czechoslovakia)
479Chris Tucker (C) United StatesBloomington Jefferson High School (USHS-MN)
6121Brett Stickney (C) United StatesSt. Paul's School (USHS-NH)
6124Derek Edgerly (C) United StatesStoneham High School (USHS-MA)
8163Hugo Belanger (LW) CanadaClarkson University (ECAC)
9184Owen Lessard (LW) CanadaOwen Sound Platers (OHL)
10205Erik Peterson (C) United StatesBrockton High School (USHS-MA)
11226Steve Dubinsky (C) CanadaClarkson University (ECAC)
12247Dino Grossi (F) CanadaNortheastern University (Hockey East)
S21Claude Maillet (D) CanadaMerrimack College (Hockey East)

Regular season

The Blackhawks played at a high level all season as they won the Norris Division, the Western Conference regular season, and their first Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the NHL with a record of 49–23–8 – good for 106 points. The Hawks edged St. Louis for all three titles as the Blues finished second with 105 points on the last day of the season with a win over the Red Wings. In addition to winning the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best team during the regular season, the Blackhawks also were the NHL's best defense, having allowed only 211 goals over 80 games. Despite being the most penalized team during the regular season, with 425 short-handed situations, the Blackhawks had a penalty-killing percentage of 84.00%, good enough for 2nd place in the league. The Blackhawks also led the NHL in short-handed goals scored, with 20.[1]

On October 25, 1990, Steve Larmer scored just 8 seconds into the overtime period to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 home win over the Washington Capitals.[2] It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1990-91 NHL regular season.[3]

All-Star Game

The 42nd National Hockey League All-Star Game took place in Chicago Stadium, home of the Chicago Blackhawks, on January 19, 1991. The game saw the team of Campbell conference all-stars beat the team of Wales conference all-stars 11–5.

While the game was high-scoring and exciting, the real story was the emotions. First from a hockey perspective, Chicago had not hosted an All-Star Game since 1974, and the Blackhawks resurgence was fueled by three All-Stars – Steve Larmer, Jeremy Roenick (his first), and Chris Chelios, all of whom received great ovations from the hometown fans during introductions. The second, larger perspective was that the game was played during the war with Iraq, and Operation Desert Storm had just started two days earlier. Some players asked that the game be delayed, but the league pressed on and players wore decals on their helmets supporting the troops. When Wayne Messmer stepped to the microphone and the organ began to play the pre-game National Anthem, the roar from the Chicago Stadium crowd, many of whom waved flags and sparklers, was deafening and sustained over the length of the song, totally overwhelming the performance, and creating a patriotic moment of history that transcended the sport.

Season standings

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Chicago Blackhawks8049238284211106
St. Louis Blues80472211310250105
Detroit Red Wings803438827329876
Minnesota North Stars8027391425626668
Toronto Maple Leafs8023461124131857

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Campbell Conference[5]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1p – Chicago BlackhawksNRS8049238284211106
2St. Louis BluesNRS80472211310250105
3Los Angeles KingsSMY80462410340254102
4Calgary FlamesSMY8046268344263100
5Edmonton OilersSMY803737627227280
6Detroit Red WingsNRS803438827329876
7Minnesota North StarsNRS8027391425626668
8Vancouver CanucksSMY802843924331565
9Winnipeg JetsSMY8026431126028863
10Toronto Maple LeafsNRS8023461124131857

Divisions: NRS – Norris, SMY – Smythe

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 4, 19904–3New York Rangers (1990–91)1–0–0
2WOctober 6, 19905–2@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)2–0–0
3LOctober 7, 19902–4New York Islanders (1990–91)2–1–0
4WOctober 11, 19904–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)3–1–0
5WOctober 13, 19904–1@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)4–1–0
6LOctober 14, 19901–3Calgary Flames (1990–91)4–2–0
7LOctober 16, 19902–3@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)4–3–0
8WOctober 18, 19903–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)5–3–0
9LOctober 20, 19902–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)5–4–0
10WOctober 21, 19907–1Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)6–4–0
11WOctober 25, 19903–2 OTWashington Capitals (1990–91)7–4–0
12LOctober 27, 19904–5@ Boston Bruins (1990–91)7–5–0
13WOctober 28, 19902–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1990–91)8–5–0
14WNovember 1, 19906–2Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)9–5–0
15WNovember 3, 19903–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)10–5–0
16LNovember 4, 19900–2Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)10–6–0
17TNovember 6, 19901–1 OT@ Hartford Whalers (1990–91)10–6–1
18WNovember 8, 19905–3Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)11–6–1
19WNovember 10, 19905–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)12–6–1
20TNovember 11, 19903–3 OTWinnipeg Jets (1990–91)12–6–2
21WNovember 14, 19903–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)13–6–2
22WNovember 16, 19904–3@ Washington Capitals (1990–91)14–6–2
23WNovember 17, 19907–2@ Quebec Nordiques (1990–91)15–6–2
24WNovember 20, 19903–1@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)16–6–2
25LNovember 21, 19901–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)16–7–2
26WNovember 24, 19905–3@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)17–7–2
27LNovember 29, 19901–5Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)17–8–2
28LDecember 1, 19903–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)17–9–2
29WDecember 2, 19903–2St. Louis Blues (1990–91)18–9–2
30WDecember 6, 19905–2New York Islanders (1990–91)19–9–2
31WDecember 8, 19902–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)20–9–2
32LDecember 9, 19904–5Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)20–10–2
33WDecember 11, 19904–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)21–10–2
34WDecember 13, 19905–4Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)22–10–2
35LDecember 15, 19901–5@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)22–11–2
36WDecember 16, 19905–2Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)23–11–2
37WDecember 19, 19903–2Washington Capitals (1990–91)24–11–2
38LDecember 22, 19900–5@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)24–12–2
39WDecember 23, 19903–2Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)25–12–2
40TDecember 26, 19906–6 OTSt. Louis Blues (1990–91)25–12–3
41LDecember 28, 19900–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)25–13–3
42WDecember 29, 19903–1@ New York Islanders (1990–91)26–13–3
43WDecember 31, 19904–0@ Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)27–13–3
44WJanuary 3, 19915–3New Jersey Devils (1990–91)28–13–3
45LJanuary 6, 19911–3Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)28–14–3
46WJanuary 10, 19917–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)29–14–3
47WJanuary 11, 19913–1@ Winnipeg Jets (1990–91)30–14–3
48WJanuary 13, 19915–3Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)31–14–3
49TJanuary 16, 19912–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1990–91)31–14–4
50WJanuary 17, 19913–2@ New York Rangers (1990–91)32–14–4
51LJanuary 24, 19914–5Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)32–15–4
52WJanuary 26, 19915–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)33–15–4
53WJanuary 28, 19911–0@ Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)34–15–4
54LFebruary 1, 19913–4 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1990–91)34–16–4
55LFebruary 2, 19911–3@ Calgary Flames (1990–91)34–17–4
56WFebruary 6, 19918–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)35–17–4
57LFebruary 9, 19913–5@ Boston Bruins (1990–91)35–18–4
58LFebruary 10, 19911–3@ Hartford Whalers (1990–91)35–19–4
59WFebruary 14, 19912–1 OTQuebec Nordiques (1990–91)36–19–4
60TFebruary 17, 19913–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1990–91)36–19–5
61LFebruary 18, 19913–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (1990–91)36–20–5
62WFebruary 21, 19914–1Boston Bruins (1990–91)37–20–5
63TFebruary 23, 19913–3 OT@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)37–20–6
64WFebruary 24, 19916–2St. Louis Blues (1990–91)38–20–6
65LFebruary 26, 19911–3@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)38–21–6
66WFebruary 28, 19916–3Hartford Whalers (1990–91)39–21–6
67WMarch 3, 19918–0Vancouver Canucks (1990–91)40–21–6
68LMarch 6, 19913–5Montreal Canadiens (1990–91)40–22–6
69WMarch 8, 19915–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1990–91)41–22–6
70WMarch 10, 19915–2New York Rangers (1990–91)42–22–6
71WMarch 14, 19916–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1990–91)43–22–6
72WMarch 16, 19913–2@ St. Louis Blues (1990–91)44–22–6
73WMarch 17, 19916–4St. Louis Blues (1990–91)45–22–6
74TMarch 21, 19912–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1990–91)45–22–7
75WMarch 23, 19917–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91)46–22–7
76WMarch 24, 19915–4Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)47–22–7
77TMarch 26, 19912–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)47–22–8
78WMarch 28, 19915–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1990–91)48–22–8
79LMarch 30, 19911–2@ Minnesota North Stars (1990–91)48–23–8
80WMarch 31, 19915–1Detroit Red Wings (1990–91)49–23–8

[6]

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Steve LarmerRW80445710179371729
Jeremy RoenickC79415394803815410
Michel GouletLW742738656527901
Chris CheliosD7712526419223522
Steve ThomasLW691935541298203
Adam CreightonC7222295113501026
Dirk GrahamW802421458812467
Doug WilsonD511129403225611
Troy MurrayC751423377413402
Wayne PresleyRW7115193412211103
Dave MansonD7514152919120612
Greg GilbertLW72101525586100
Mike HudsonC/LW557916625001
Trent YawneyD6131316776300
Frantisek KuceraD4021214323100
Jocelyn LemieuxRW676713119-7112
Steve KonroydD70012124011000
Keith BrownD4511011559000
Bob McGillD774591518000
Mike PelusoLW53617320-3200
Paul GillisC13055531000
Mike McNeillRW232246-1010
Brian NoonanRW70442-1000
Ed BelfourG74033340000
Stu GrimsonLW35011183-3000
Tony McKegneyLW90114-2000
Mike StapletonC701120000
Jacques CloutierG1000020000
Dominik HasekG500000000
Greg MillenG300000000
Cam RussellD300051000
Jimmy WaiteG100000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ed Belfour412774431971702.47418831713.910
Dominik Hasek195530182.4609385.914
Jacques Cloutier40310230243.570175151.863
Jimmy Waite60110022.0002826.929
Greg Millen58301044.1403228.875
Team:484380492382082.58422112003.906

Playoffs

After reaching the Conference finals the prior two years and winning the Presidents' Trophy, hopes were extremely high entering the playoffs. The first round again reunited the Hawks with their old rivals from Minnesota who the Blackhawks needed seven games to dispatch in the prior year when the North Stars were the last place team in the division. This series however would not last seven games. The teams needed overtime to determine the winner of Game 1 at the Chicago Stadium, however it was Minnesota who emerged as the 4–3 winner. The Blackhawks won Games 2 and 3, an easy 5–2 win in Chicago, and a close 6–5 win in Minnesota. However the North Stars swept the remaining games in blowout fashion including a 6–0 shutout on the Hawks home ice in Game 5. What was looking like it could be one of the greatest seasons in Hawks history was suddenly over. Minnesota won their next two series and reached the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Jeremy RoenickC635842101
Chris CheliosD6178462100
Steve LarmerRW651642100
Warren RychelLW313421101
Doug WilsonD521321200
Dirk GrahamW6123172000
Steve ThomasLW6123153000
Mike HudsonC/LW602281000
Keith BrownD610180000
Steve KonroydD610181000
Adam CreightonC6011100000
Greg GilbertLW501121000
Dominik HasekG301100000
Dave MansonD6011362000
Troy MurrayC6011120000
Wayne PresleyRW6011380000
Ed BelfourG600060000
Paul GillisC200021000
Stu GrimsonLW500046-1000
Jocelyn LemieuxRW40000-2000
Bob McGillD500021000
Tony McKegneyLW200040000
Mike PelusoLW30002-1000
Cam RussellD10000-1000
Trent YawneyD100000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Ed Belfour295624204.070183163.891
Dominik Hasek6930032.6103936.923
Team:364624233.790222199.896

[7]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ "1990-91 NHL Summary".
  2. ↑ "Hawks and Larmer Edge Capitals in Ot".
  3. ↑ "1990-91 NHL Schedule and Results".
  4. ↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ↑ "1990-1991 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  6. ↑ "1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  7. ↑ "1990-91 Chicago Blackhawks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
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