What If? #1: Pens vs. Avs 1996

[Deleted]

Every Tuesday that I can do it, I will do a new NHL "What If?" simulated at whatifsports.com.

First one here. The Panthers went Cinderella in 1996 all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

But what if the Pens had knocked off the Cats in Game 7, facing the Avs in the Stanley Cup Finals?


GAME 1: PIT 1 @ COL 5

PIT GOAL: Zubov
COL GOALS: Kovalenko (2), Nolan, C. Lemieux (PP), Wolanin

Avs keep shooting and shooting, outshooting the Pens 46-26. Both Jagr and Lemieux go -4, and a late cross checking call on Neil Wilkinson ruins any hope of a comeback, as Claude Lemieux scores on the power play to seal the deal at McNichols Sports Arena.

GAME 2: PIT 5 @ COL 7

PIT GOALS: Lemieux (2), Jagr (2), Zubov
COL GOALS: Sakic (3, one on PP), Wolanin, Kamensky, Forsberg, Deadmarsh

The Avs run-and-gun again, with a 53-28 shots advantage. The lone Pens penalty in the game proves to be a turning point, as Sakic scored on the elbowing call to Mario.

GAME 3: COL 5 @ PIT 3

PIT GOALS: Jagr (2), Nedved
COL GOALS: Kamensky, Forsberg, Nolan, Kovalenko, C. Lemieux (PP)

The Avs get a four goal first and stretch the lead early in the third, but the Pens catch up and make a game of it. Mario Lemieux set up all three Pens goals, and now they must win Game 4 to send it back to Denver...

GAME 4: COL 6 @ PIT 5 (OT)

PIT GOALS: Jagr, Nedved, Mironov, Francis (2)
COL GOALS: Kamensky, Sakic, Forsberg, Nolan, Kovalenko, Rucinsky

A heartbreaker for the Pens. They erase a late 5-3 deficit, only to be thwarted in overtime as Rucinsky nets it just over a minute into the OT (instead of the triple overtime marathon in Miami). The Avs outshoot the Pens 57-36 as they take home the Stanley Cup.

So nothing changes, Avs still get the sweep, but it's a much higher-scoring series.

[jetsnordiquesfan]

What I'M more curious about is: What would have happened if the Avs stayed in Quebec for one more season.

[mrconfusion87]

^^^

Same, same!

[frozenpondblue531]

Whatif's a great website, and I look forward to reading the results you post here of scenarios you plug in.

To this day, I still find it crazy Detroit couldn't win the Cup in '95 or '96. I think '96 was a case of the Avalanche catching and passing the Red Wings by the end of it, but I'm still perplexed how Detroit got it handed to them 4 straight by New Jersey in '95.

I do agree the '96 Cup was basically the winner of Detroit-Colorado - regardless of who won the East. (Florida was the worst team in the Cup Finals I had ever seen... all Goaltending while everyone else clutched and grabbed the entire Cup Final... I don't care if the '82 Canucks or '91 North Stars had worse records...) Pittsburgh's biggest what if year is '93 IMO, when they were stunned by Al Arbour's team. I'm not buying Montreal even gives Pittsburgh a series past 5 that spring.