Going Was Tough, Penguins Tougher : Hockey: They beat Blackhawks, 6-5, to cap a sweep to second consecutive title--and end a season that soured before it began.

By STEVE SPRINGER

June 2, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CHICAGO —

Pittsburgh Penguin Coach Scotty Bowman, looking every bit his 58 years, wiped the champagne off his brow at Chicago Stadium Monday night, stared into the bright lights of a dozen cameras and heaved a sigh of relief.

“I started Oct. 1,” he said. “This is June 1. It’s been long enough to a have a baby.”

This baby was eight months of agony and uncertainty, disaster always looming ahead.

But when it was over, there was talk of a dynasty after the Penguins had defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-5, before 18,472 to sweep the Stanley Cup finals.

It was Pittsburgh’s second consecutive Cup.

Since Oct. 1, the Penguins saw:

--Their coach die.

--Their team sold.

--Their players in mutiny.

--Their club fall behind, 3-1, in their opening playoff series.

--Their star player apparently knocked out of the playoffs.

No matter.

After all the adversity, the final scene was identical to a year ago, Mario Lemieux skating around a rink with the Stanley Cup held high over his head, his teammates following in celebration.

The problems began during the summer when Bob Johnson, who had coached Pittsburgh to its first Cup, was found to have a brain tumor that would soon lead to his death.

In stepped Bowman, a winner of five Cups with the Montreal Canadiens, to take the coaching reins.

That was just the beginning. Center Ron Francis sat out nearly the first third of the season because of a long holdout.

Drawn-out negotiations over the sale of the club finally ended with its purchases by a group headed by Howard Baldwin.

A crucial trade in February brought Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson to strengthen the defense.

At a mid-March players’ meeting, General Manager Craig Patrick cooled deep-seated resentment over what some saw as Bowman’s heavy-handed methods.

In April, the Penguins lost three of their first four games to the Washington Capitals, then rallied to win three in a row.

In May, Mario Lemieux suffered a broken left hand against the New York Rangers during the Patrick Division finals and was thought to be lost for the season.

But Lemieux returned to lead Pittsburgh to 11 postseason victories in a row, culminating Monday night when he won his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs.

The 11 consecutive tied a league record set by the Blackhawks a week ago.

The Blackhawks matched the powerful Penguins goal for goal during a wide-open first period.

Jaromir Jagr’s 11th postseason goal, Kevin Stevens’ 13th and Lemieux’ 16th in 15 games left Pittsburgh tied because of Dirk Graham’s hat trick, giving him seven postseason goals.

Chicago Coach Mike Keenan pulled his No. 1 goalie, Ed Belfour, at 6:33 of the first period after Stevens’ goal had given Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

But backup Dominik Hasek played brilliantly.

The score was tied, 4-4, after two periods, Tocchet’s sixth postseason goal matched by Jeremy Roenick’s 11th. But it was the first of the finals for Roenick, Chicago’s regular-season leader with 53. He was playing despite a bruised thumb.

Larry Murphy put the Penguins back in front at 4:51 of the final period with his sixth postseason goal. Francis added his eighth goal of the playoffs.

Francis’ goal proved to be crucial when Roenick scored again with 8:48 to play.

From then on, Pittsburgh, led by goalie Tom Barrasso, hung on.

When it was over, Keenan called his third loss in the finals in as many trips “painful.”

Earlier in the series, Keenan had accused Lemieux of taking a dive to get a crucial penalty call.

Reminded of that comment Monday, Lemieux smiled and said he was going to head into the wild celebration scene in his club’s dressing room and “dive into that Cup.”

Before he did, Lemieux took a moment to mention the man whose nickname, Badger, he and his teammates wear on their sleeves.

“Bob Johnson was always on our mind,” Lemieux said, “him and the things he brought to Pittsburgh.”

When he took over the Penguins, Bowman called his players together and told them, “Bob had got a great thing going here. Let’s build on it.”

Johnson is gone now. But his legacy is alive and well.

Stanley Cup Sweeps

Stanley Cup winners that have swept the final series since the inception of the best-of-seven format in 1939:

1940-41 -- Boston def. Detroit

1942-43 -- Detroit def. Boston

1943-44 -- Montreal def. Chicago

1947-48 -- Toronto def. Detroit

1948-49 -- Toronto def. Detroit

1951-52 -- Detroit def. Montreal