On Jan. 4, 1989, three years to the day after their tie with Moscow Dynamo, the Penguins hosted an exhibition against Central Red Army. Red Army was the major Russian attraction, having won the last 12 Soviet League championships. The game wasn't on local radio or television.
Penguins general manager Tony Esposito said the players wouldn't be paid for the game, but half the proceeds would go to the players' pension fund. Penguins player rep Jim Johnson said that the players association hadn't told him anything.
The Penguins weren't too excited. "It's just another game," was Mario Lemieux's thought. "Our season is long enough. All we want to do is try to play a good game, play a solid game, nobody gets hurt, and go from there. It doesn't really matter if we win or not."
Red Army was coached by national team coach Viktor Tikhonov, and featured the "Green Unit" (named for their practice jerseys) of Vyacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov, Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and captain Sergei Makarov. The second line was left wing Valeri Kamensky, center Vyatcheslav Bykov and right wing Andrei Khomutov.
Paul Coffey was out with a bad shoulder, while Zarley Zalapski had suffered a serious knee injury that would sideline him for months. Coach Gene Ubriaco also gave Tom Barrasso and Randy Hillier the night off.
The Penguins were coming off an 8-0 pounding by the Capitals two days earlier, while Red Army was 3-0-1 on their trip.
Esposito felt things were evening up between the North Americans and Soviets. "They've learned a lot from us and we've learned a lot from them. We're more fluid now. There's more passing in our game, more motion. And they play more like we play. They're more physical now."
"The system they play is different from any NHL team," Lemieux said. "The way they criss-cross at center ice and the way they work with their defensemen, they always bring one or two defensemen (into the attack). That's why it's tough."
The Pittsburgh Press' Dave Molinari summarized what happened this way:
"For more than two months, Wendell Young had faced no one more hostile than the media members seated around him in the press box. Suddenly, he was in the goal crease, with one of the world's finest goal-scorers in his face and a game in the balance. The situation screamed for panic, but Young responded with poise ... and a sprawling save on Sergei Makarov to preserve the Penguins' 4-2 victory against the Soviet Central Red Army at the Civic Arena last night. Although the game produced numerous memorable snapshots, none is more vivid than Young darting across the crease to stop Makarov with just under four minutes left. 'The save he made on Makarov was unbelievable,' Penguins defenseman Jim Johnson said. 'I just threw my arms out in desperation,' Young said. 'He had the whole net. I think it was more of a bad shot by him than a good save by me.' "
Lemieux's goal and two assists led the Penguins. After a scoreless first period, he opened the scoring with a slap shot at 15:27 of the second period. John Cullen converted a Dan Quinn feed at 18:03 and Rob Brown deflected in a Lemieux power play slapshot at 19:19.
Makarov scored on a breakaway 31 seconds into the third period. Bob Errey answered from the left circle at 1:12, then Evgeny Davydov put in a rebound for a power play goal at 2:55 to end the scoring.
Each team used two goalies. Frank Pietrangelo stopped 11 shots in the first period, then Young, who had been in the press box since October because of injury, made 16 saves in the last two periods. Sergei Mylnikov stopped 10 of 13 shots in the first two periods before Sergei Goloshumov made 9 saves in the third. Attendance was 12,309, about 4,000 shy of a sellout. The fact that tickets for this exhibition were a few dollars more expensive than regular season games may have affected that.
Both Brown and Krutov left the game with injuries. Neither was serious.
Soviet referee Nikolai Morozov waved off an apparent short-handed goal by Phil Bourque, and Red Army had seven power plays to Pittsburgh's three, but the Soviets still suffered the first loss of their tour.
"He is a great player," Makarov said of Lemieux. "His game is excellence."
"It was a good game for everybody. But I didn't do too much out there tonight," Lemieux said. "It was an important game for us to get back on track and play well defensively."
After the game, one of the Red Army goalies asked Young for his stick.
"He says he needs it because they're short on them. I don't know if they are or aren't, but I gave it to him anyways. Why not? He probably needs it more than me.
"That's fine with me as long as he doesn't take it to Afghanistan and hit somebody over the head with it."
In the summer of 1989, the Green Unit players were allowed to sign with NHL teams. As more Russians joined the NHL, the exhibitions became less compelling.
SportsChannel's coverage of the Penguins' four goals:
CTV's coverage of the whole game, with Young's save at 1:31.
