1995 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League was played between May 6 and June 24, 1995. In the Final, the New Jersey Devils swept the favored Detroit Red Wings in four games to win their first championship. The Quebec Nordiques played their last ever playoff series during this time. They would move to Denver, Colorado during the summer.

This was the only time Patrick Roy missed the playoffs in his career.

The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for the conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Stanley Cup.

1 Playoff bracket
2 Scoring leaders
3 Conference Quarter-finals
- 3.1 Eastern Conference Quarter-finals
- 3.2 Western Conference Quarter-finals
4 Conference Semi-finals
- 4.1 Eastern Conference Semi-finals
  - 4.1.1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils
  - 4.1.2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers
- 4.2 Western Conference Semi-finals
  - 4.2.1 Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks
  - 4.2.2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks
5 Conference finals
- 5.1 Eastern Conference Final
- 5.2 Western Conference Final
6 Stanley Cup Final
7 See also

Playoff bracket

Conference Quarter-finals			Conference Semi-finals				Conference finals			Stanley Cup Final

1	Quebec Nordiques	2	2	Philadelphia Flyers	4
8	New York Rangers	4	8	New York Rangers	0

2	Philadelphia Flyers	4				Eastern Conference

7	Buffalo Sabres	1
							2	Philadelphia Flyers	2

							5	New Jersey Devils	4
3	Pittsburgh Penguins	4

6	Washington Capitals	3



4	Boston Bruins	1	3	Pittsburgh Penguins	1

5	New Jersey Devils	4	5	New Jersey Devils	4
										E5	New Jersey Devils	4
	(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
										W1	Detroit Red Wings	0
1	Detroit Red Wings	4	1	Detroit Red Wings	4

8	Dallas Stars	1	7	San Jose Sharks	0


2	Calgary Flames	3

7	San Jose Sharks	4
							1	Detroit Red Wings	4

							4	Chicago Blackhawks	1
3	St. Louis Blues	3

6	Vancouver Canucks	4					Western Conference


4	Chicago Blackhawks	4	4	Chicago Blackhawks	4

5	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	6	Vancouver Canucks	0

During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Sergei Fedorov	Detroit	17	7	17	24
Stephane Richer	New Jersey	19	6	15	21
Neal Broten	New Jersey	20	7	12	19
Ron Francis	Pittsburgh	12	6	13	19
Denis Savard	Chicago	16	7	11	18
Paul Coffey	Detroit	18	6	12	18
John MacLean	New Jersey	20	5	13	18
Claude Lemieux	New Jersey	20	13	3	16
Vyacheslav Kozlov	Detroit	18	9	7	16
Nicklas Lidstrom	Detroit	18	4	12	16

Conference Quarter-finals

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals

Quebec Nordiques vs. New York Rangers

Quebec vs. NY Rangers
Date	Away	Home
May 6	NY Rangers 4	5 Quebec
May 8	NY Rangers 8	3 Quebec
May 10	Quebec 3	4 NY Rangers
May 12	Quebec 2	3 NY Rangers	OT
May 14	NY Rangers 2	4 Quebec
May 16	Quebec 2	4 NY Rangers
NY Rangers wins series 4–2

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals

Pittsburgh vs. Washington
Date	Away	Home
May 6	Washington 5	4 Pittsburgh
May 8	Washington 3	5 Pittsburgh
May 10	Pittsburgh 2	6 Washington
May 12	Pittsburgh 2	6 Washington
May 14	Washington 5	6 Pittsburgh	OT
May 16	Pittsburgh 7	1 Washington
May 18	Washington 0	3 Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh wins series 4–3

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres

Philadelphia vs. Buffalo
Date	Away	Home
May 7	Buffalo 3	4 Philadelphia	OT
May 8	Buffalo 1	3 Philadelphia
May 10	Philadelphia 1	3 Buffalo
May 12	Philadelphia 4	2 Buffalo
May 14	Buffalo 4	6 Philadelphia
Philadelphia wins series 4–1

Boston Bruins vs. New Jersey Devils

Boston vs. New Jersey
Date	Away	Home
May 7	New Jersey 5	0 Boston
May 8	New Jersey 3	0 Boston
May 10	Boston 3	2 New Jersey
May 12	Boston 0	1 New Jersey	OT
May 14	New Jersey 3	2 Boston
New Jersey wins series 4–1

Game 5 would be the last game ever played in the Boston Garden.

Western Conference Quarter-finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Dallas Stars

Detroit vs. Dallas
Date	Away	Home
May 7	Dallas 3	4 Detroit
May 9	Dallas 1	4 Detroit
May 11	Detroit 5	1 Dallas
May 14	Detroit 1	4 Dallas
May 15	Dallas 1	3 Detroit
Detroit wins series 4–1

St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks

St. Louis vs. Vancouver
Date	Away	Home
May 7	Vancouver 1	2 St. Louis
May 9	Vancouver 5	3 St. Louis
May 11	St. Louis 1	6 Vancouver
May 13	St. Louis 5	2 Vancouver
May 15	Vancouver 6	5 St. Louis	OT
May 17	St. Louis 8	2 Vancouver
May 19	Vancouver 5	3 St. Louis
Vancouver wins series 4–3

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

Chicago vs. Toronto
Date	Away	Home
May 7	Toronto 5	3 Chicago
May 9	Toronto 3	0 Chicago
May 11	Chicago 3	2 Toronto
May 13	Chicago 3	1 Toronto
May 15	Toronto 2	4 Chicago
May 17	Chicago 4	5 Toronto	OT
May 19	Toronto 2	5 Chicago
Chicago wins series 4–3

Calgary Flames vs. San Jose Sharks

Calgary vs. San Jose
Date	Away	Home
May 7	San Jose 5	4 Calgary
May 9	San Jose 5	4 Calgary	OT
May 11	Calgary 9	2 San Jose
May 13	Calgary 6	4 San Jose
May 15	San Jose 0	5 Calgary
May 17	Calgary 3	5 San Jose
May 19	San Jose 5	4 Calgary	2OT
San Jose wins series 4–3

Conference Semi-finals

Eastern Conference Semi-finals

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New Jersey Devils

Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey
Date	Away	Home
May 20	New Jersey 2	3 Pittsburgh
May 22	New Jersey 4	2 Pittsburgh
May 24	Pittsburgh 1	5 New Jersey
May 26	Pittsburgh 1	2 New Jersey	OT
May 28	New Jersey 4	1 Pittsburgh
New Jersey win series 4–1

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers

Philadelphia vs. NY Rangers
Date	Away	Home
May 21	NY Rangers 4	5 Philadelphia	OT
May 22	NY Rangers 3	4 Philadelphia	OT
May 24	Philadelphia 5	2 NY Rangers
May 26	Philadelphia 4	1 NY Rangers
Philadelphia wins series 4–0

Western Conference Semi-finals

Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

Detroit vs. San Jose
Date	Away	Home
May 21	San Jose 0	6 Detroit
May 23	San Jose 2	6 Detroit
May 25	Detroit 6	2 San Jose
May 27	Detroit 6	2 San Jose
Detroit wins series 4–0

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks

Chicago vs. Vancouver
Date	Away	Home
May 21	Vancouver 1	2 Chicago	OT
May 23	Vancouver 0	2 Chicago
May 25	Chicago 3	2 Vancouver	OT
May 27	Chicago 4	3 Vancouver	OT
Chicago wins series 4–0

Game 4 would be the last game ever played in the Pacific Coliseum.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference Final

Philadelphia vs. New Jersey
Date	Away	Home
June 3	New Jersey 4	1 Philadelphia
June 5	New Jersey 5	2 Philadelphia
June 7	Philadelphia 3	2 New Jersey	OT
June 10	Philadelphia 4	2 New Jersey
June 11	New Jersey 3	2 Philadelphia
June 13	Philadelphia 2	4 New Jersey
New Jersey wins series 4–2 and Prince of Wales Trophy

The Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils met in the 1995 Eastern Conference Final. The Flyers were fresh off their surprising four-game sweep of the defending Stanley Cup-champion New York Rangers, while the Devils had just completed their unlikely upset of the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. The Flyers were looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1987, while the Devils were hoping to make it to the Cup Finals for the first time in team history.

New Jersey shocked Philadelphia and their home crowd in game one at the Spectrum, taking a commanding 3–0 lead after the first two periods. They made it 4–0 on Bill Guerin's second goal of the game, at 2:04 of the third period. Martin Brodeur's shutout bid was erased, however, as Craig MacTavish got the Flyers on the board with 1:54 remaining in regulation. The Devils won the game 4–1 to take a 1–0 lead in the series. The Flyers fought back in game two, as Mikael Renberg's goal at 13:54 of the first period gave his team a 2–1 lead; its first lead in the series. However, Devils forward John MacLean would score with just 12 seconds remaining in the period to tie the game at 2–2. New Jersey then went on to score three times in the second period, and won the game 5–2. After dominating the first two games at the Spectrum, the Devils headed home for game three, up two games to none in the series. In game three, Philadelphia played with a sense of urgency. Trailing 2–1, the Flyers tied the game on Rod Brind'Amour's goal with 6:03 to go in regulation. They went on to win the game 3–2 on captain Eric Lindros' goal at 4:19 of the first overtime period. Playing with their newfound confidence, the Flyers won game four as well, 4–2, despite being outshot 34–19. Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall made 32 saves. The win tied the series at 2–2 and set up a crucial game five on Sunday, June 11 at the Spectrum. The Devils took a 2–1 lead into the second period, which ended up scoreless. The Flyers tied the game on Kevin Dineen's second goal of the game at 3:13 of the third period. The Devils almost regained the lead on Stephane Richer's breakaway shot that hit the crossbar with less than four minutes to go in regulation. Then, with less than a minute remaining, Devils forward Claude Lemieux picked up the puck on a backcheck in the New Jersey zone and skated up the ice. Once over the Flyers' blue line, Lemieux fired a slap shot that beat Hextall blocker side. The goal silenced the Spectrum crowd and gave New Jersey a 3–2 lead with just 44.2 seconds to play. The Devils hung on to win the game 3–2.

The Devils were now in the same situation they had been in during the Eastern Conference Finals the year before: going back home to the Meadowlands for game six, leading the series 3-2. In game six on June 13, Philadelphia opened the scoring on Jim Montgomery's goal at 4:05 of the first period. The Devils, however, calmly utilized the neutral-zone trap to shut down the Flyers' offense while their forwards took advantage. Stephane Richer tied the game with a power-play goal at 10:25 and Brian Rolston put the Devils up 2–1 with a goal at 18:15. The scored remained 2–1 for New Jersey until midway through the second period. Flyers forward Craig MacTavish, skating over the Devils' blueline, took a slap shot that was blocked by New Jersey defenceman Shawn Chambers. At that moment there were four Philadelphia skaters over the blueline. Taking advantage of the situation, New Jersey forward Bobby Holik picked up the puck after Chambers had blocked the shot and skated up the ice with forward Randy McKay on the right side and Claude Lemieux as the trailer. A three-on-one ensued, as only defenceman Kevin Haller was back. Holik, skating down the ice on the left wing, waited for Haller to commit, which he did. As Haller slid backwards along the ice to take away the pass, Holik feathered the puck under Haller's legs and it went right to Randy McKay. Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall was expecting Holik to shoot, so McKay was able to deflect the puck into the net before Hextall moved across to the right side. The goal came at 11:58 and gave New Jersey a 3–1 lead. They made it 4–1 at 10:11 of the third period when Bobby Carpenter passed the puck past Flyers defenceman Karl Dykhuis up to Claude Lemieux at center ice who went in on a breakaway and scored his league-leading 11th goal of the playoffs. He had been tied with Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr, who had scored 10 goals in the Penguins' 12 playoff games of 1995. With the goal, Lemieux also broke his personal record for most goals scored in a playoff year that he had set in 1986 as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. The Flyers fought back as Mikael Renberg scored on the power play at 16:29 to cut the Devils' lead to 4–2, but New Jersey held its lead and went on to win the game and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in team history. The Devils defense had held the Flyers to just 16 shots in the game.

Western Conference Final

Detroit vs. Chicago
Date	Away	Home
June 1	Chicago 1	2 Detroit	OT
June 4	Chicago 2	3 Detroit
June 6	Detroit 4	3 Chicago	2OT
June 8	Detroit 2	5 Chicago
June 11	Chicago 1	2 Detroit	2OT
Detroit wins series 4–1 and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl

The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks met in the 1995 Western Conference Finals. The Red Wings had just completed a four-game sweep of the San Jose Sharks, and the Blackhawks had just completed their sweep of the Vancouver Canucks. Detroit was having its best playoff since 1988, and was hoping to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1966. Chicago, on the other hand, was back in the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, when they last made it to the Cup Finals.

Game one of the series at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit saw a goaltending battle between Ed Belfour of Chicago and Mike Vernon of Detroit. The two teams skated to a 1–1 tie after regulation before Nicklas Lidstrom scored the game-winning goal for Detroit at 1:01 of the first overtime period. It was the first overtime playoff game that Detroit had won at home since Tuesday, March 29, 1960. In game two, Chicago led by a score of 2–1 after two periods on goals by Chris Chelios and Tony Amonte. However, Detroit kept pressing and eventually tied the game on Doug Brown's goal. Kris Draper scored the winner for Detroit with just 1:45 remaining in regulation. In game three of the series at the United Center in Chicago, Detroit led 3–2 going into the third period, where Jeff Shantz scored at 8:33 to tie the game for Chicago. The game went to double overtime where Vladimir Konstantinov scored the game-winner for Detroit at 9:25. The win gave the Red Wings a commanding three-games-to-none series lead. The Blackhawks responded to the urgency and came out flying in game four. Denis Savard and Joe Murphy both scored twice and captain Dirk Graham had a goal to give Chicago a dominating 5–0 lead after 40 minutes. Detroit scored twice in the third period on goals by Kris Draper and Ray Sheppard, as the Blackhawks went on to win the game 5–2. They now trailed in the series 3 games to 1. In game five in Detroit on Sunday, June 11, Chicago jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Denis Savard's power play goal at 10:18 of the first period. Detroit then tied the game on Steve Yzerman's goal at 11:36 of the second. After a scoreless third period, the game went into double overtime where Vyacheslav Kozlov scored at 2:25 to give the Red Wings a 2–1 win and a four-games-to-one series win.

Stanley Cup Final

Main article: 1995 Stanley Cup Finals

The Red Wings were making their 19th appearance in a Stanley Cup Final, and first since 1966. The Devils were making their first appearance in the final, in their 20th season. The Devils would blanket the Red Wings with defense to win their first Cup title.

Detroit Red Wings vs. New Jersey Devils
Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
June 17	New Jersey	2	Detroit	1
June 20	New Jersey	4	Detroit	2
June 22	Detroit	2	New Jersey	5
June 24	Detroit	2	New Jersey	5
New Jersey wins series 4–0 and Stanley Cup
Claude Lemieux (New Jersey) wins Conn Smythe Trophy