1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season

1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division 1st Northeast
Conference 2nd Eastern
1995–96 record 49–29–4
Home record 32–9–0
Road record 17–20–4
Goals for 362
Goals against 284
Team information
General Manager Craig Patrick
Coach Eddie Johnston
Captain Mario Lemieux
Alternate captains Ron Francis
Jaromir Jagr
Arena Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Team leaders
Goals Mario Lemieux (69)
Assists Mario Lemieux (92)
Points Mario Lemieux (161)
Penalties in minutes Francois Leroux (161)
Wins Tom Barrasso (29)
Goals against average Ken Wregget (3.24)

The 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins season saw the return of Mario Lemieux after missing an entire season due to injuries. The Penguins improved to first in the Northeast Division and second overall in the Eastern Conference. In the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Penguins progressed to the Conference Finals before losing to the Florida Panthers.

Regular season

Mario Lemieux's return to the NHL after missing the entire 1994–95 season energized the Penguins and re-instituted the team's finesse game for the 1995–96 season. The Penguins finished second in the Eastern Conference with 102 points, leading all League teams in goals (362), even-strength goals (235), power-play goals (109), power-play percentage (25.95%) and shooting percentage while scoring 362 goals on just 2,645 shots (13.7%).[1][2] Despite missing 12 regular-season games, Lemieux led the NHL in goals (69), assists (92), points (161) power-play goals (31) and shorthanded goals (8). Czech superstar Jaromir Jagr had a career year, scoring 62 goals (second in the League), 87 assists (third in the League) and 149 points (second in the League). The third 100-point scorer on the team was Ron Francis, who tallied 27 goals and 92 assists (tied for first in the NHL with Lemieux) for 119 points. Petr Nedved scored 45 goals and had 54 assists for 99 points in 80 games—he finished second in the NHL in shooting percentage, with 22.1%.[3] Despite missing over a quarter of the season, Tomas Sandstrom also had a strong year, scoring 35 goals and picking up 35 assists for 70 points in 58 games.

Lemieux scored three goals or more in a game six times, and four goals or more in a game twice. On March 26, 1996, he scored five goals in a home game against the St. Louis Blues. Lemieux tallied two even-strength goals, two power-play goals and one short-handed goal in the game, which the Penguins won 8–4.

Season standings

Northeast Division
No. GP W L T GF GA PTS
1 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 49 29 4 362 284 102
2 Boston Bruins 82 40 31 11 282 269 91
3 Montreal Canadiens 82 40 32 10 265 248 90
4 Hartford Whalers 82 34 39 9 237 259 77
5 Buffalo Sabres 82 33 42 7 247 262 72
6 Ottawa Senators 82 18 59 5 191 291 41
Eastern Conference[4]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 282 208 103
2 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 49 29 4 362 284 102
3 New York Rangers ATL 82 41 27 14 272 237 96
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 41 31 10 254 234 92
5 Boston Bruins NE 82 40 31 11 282 269 91
6 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 40 32 10 265 248 90
7 Washington Capitals ATL 82 39 32 11 234 204 89
8 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 38 32 12 238 248 88
9 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 37 33 12 215 202 86
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 34 39 9 237 259 77
11 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 33 42 7 247 262 73
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 22 50 10 229 315 54
13 Ottawa Senators NE 82 18 59 5 191 291 41

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

1995–96 Schedule
Legend:           = Win           = Loss           = Tie

Playoffs

In the 1996 Playoffs, the Penguins advanced to the third round for the first time since 1992, defeating the Washington Capitals in six games and the New York Rangers in five games. In the Eastern Conference finals, the heavily favored Penguins were upset in seven games by the defense-oriented Florida Panthers.

1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Legend:           = Win           = Loss

Suspensions

Player Length Date Reason
Ron Francis 2 games February 27, 1996 Checking from behind

Injuries

Player Injury Date
Tom Barrasso Pulled Groin (DTD) December 7, 1995
Tom Barrasso Shoulder injury (Out Indefinitely) February 5, 1996
Stefan Bergkvist Appendectomy February 21, 1996

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[5]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux 70 69 92 161 10 54
Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr 82 62 87 149 31 96
Francis, RonRon Francis 77 27 92 119 25 56
Nedved, PetrPetr Nedved 80 45 54 99 37 68
Sandstrom, TomasTomas Sandstrom 58 35 35 70 4 69
Zubov, SergeiSergei Zubov 64 11 55 66 28 22
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski 81 24 40 64 6 69
Naslund, MarkusMarkus Naslund 66 19 33 52 17 36
Mironov, DmitriDmitri Mironov 72 3 31 34 19 88
Murray, GlenGlen Murray 69 14 15 29 4 57
MacIver, NormNorm MacIver 32 2 21 23 12 32
Joseph, ChrisChris Joseph 70 5 14 19 6 71
Roche, DaveDave Roche 71 7 7 14 –5 130
Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer 70 4 10 14 20 153
Wilkinson, NeilNeil Wilkinson 41 2 10 12 12 87
Leroux, FrancoisFrancois Leroux 66 2 9 11 2 161
Miller, KevinKevin Miller 13 6 5 11 4 4
Park, RichardRichard Park 56 4 6 10 3 36
Dziedzic, JoeJoe Dziedzic 69 5 5 10 –5 68
Daigneault, Jean-JacquesJean-Jacques Daigneault 13 3 3 6 0 23
McLlwain, DaveDave McLlwain 18 2 4 6 –5 4
Lauer, BradBrad Lauer 21 4 1 5 –5 6
Foster, CoreyCorey Foster 11 2 2 4 –2 2
Wells, ChrisChris Wells 54 2 2 4 –6 59
Fitzgerald, RustyRusty Fitzgerald 21 1 2 3 7 12
Patterson, EdEd Patterson 35 0 2 2 –5 38
Moran, IanIan Moran 51 1 1 2 –1 47
Stojanov, AlekAlek Stojanov 10 1 0 1 –1 7
Berehowsky, DrakeDrake Berehowsky 1 0 0 0 1 0
Bergqvist, StefanStefan Bergqvist 2 0 0 0 0 2
Allen, PeterPeter Allen 8 0 0 0 2 8
Barrie, LenLen Barrie 5 0 0 0 –1 18
Christian, JeffreyJeffrey Christian 3 0 0 0 0 2
Andrusak, GregGreg Andrusak 2 0 0 0 –1 0
Total 362 638 1000 1,585

Playoffs[6]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux 18 11 16 27 3 33
Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr 18 11 12 23 7 18
Nedved, PetrPetr Nedved 18 10 10 20 3 16
Zubov, SergeiSergei Zubov 18 1 14 15 9 26
Daigneault, Jean-JacquesJean-Jacques Daigneault 17 1 9 10 4 36
Francis, RonRon Francis 11 3 6 9 3 4
Roche, DaveDave Roche 16 2 7 9 1 26
Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski 18 5 4 9 –4 10
Murray, GlenGlen Murray 18 2 6 8 2 10
Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer 18 0 7 7 0 24
Sandstrom, TomasTomas Sandstrom 18 4 2 6 –6 30
Miller, KevinKevin Miller 18 3 2 5 –6 8
Dziedzic, JoeJoe Dziedzic 16 1 2 3 1 19
Leroux, FrancoisFrancois Leroux 18 1 1 2 2 20
Lauer, BradBrad Lauer 12 1 1 2 0 4
Joseph, ChrisChris Joseph 15 1 0 1 1 8
Wilkinson, NeilNeil Wilkinson 15 0 1 1 –2 14
Mironov, DmitriDmitri Mironov 15 0 1 1 –6 10
Foster, CoreyCorey Foster 3 0 0 0 –2 4
Park, RichardRichard Park 1 0 0 0 0 0
McLlwain, DaveDave McLlwain 6 0 0 0 0 0
Stojanov, AlekAlek Stojanov 9 0 0 0 0 19
Bergqvist, StefanStefan Bergqvist 4 0 0 0 –1 2
Total 57 101 158 341

Goaltenders
Regular Season[7]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso 49 2799:01 29 16 2 160 3.43 1626 0.902 2 0 3 18
Wregget, KenKen Wregget 37 2132:15 20 13 2 115 3.24 1205 0.905 3 0 2 8
Total 4931:16 49 29 4 275 3.35 2831 0.903 5 0 5 26
Playoffs[8]
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SA SV% SO G A PIM
Wregget, KenKen Wregget 9 598:47 7 2 0 23 2.30 328 0.93 0 0 1 0
Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso 10 557:30 4 5 0 26 2.80 337 0.923 1 0 0 8
Total 1156:17 11 7 0 49 2.54 665 0.926 1 0 1 8

Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

Awards

Player Award
Ron Francis Player's Player Award
Pittsburgh Penguins Masterton Nominee
Jaromir Jagr Bob Johnson Memorial Award
NHL First All-Star Team
Mario Lemieux Most Valuable Player Award
Booster Club Award
Leading Point Scorer Award
Hart Memorial Trophy
Art Ross Trophy
Lester B. Pearson Award
NHL First All-Star Team
Petr Nedved Unsung Hero Award
Disaster Specialists "Baz" Bastien Memorial "Good Guy" Award
Dave Roche Edward J. DeBartolo Community Service Award

Transactions

The Penguins have been involved in the following transactions during the 1995–96 season:[9]

Trades

July 8, 1995 To Toronto Maple Leafs

Larry Murphy

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Dmitri Mironov
1996 2nd round pick

August 1, 1995 To Boston Bruins

Kevin Stevens
Shawn McEachern

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Glen Murray
Bryan Smolinski
1996 3rd round pick

August 31, 1995 To New York Rangers

Luc Robitaille
Ulf Samuelsson

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Petr Nedved
Sergei Zubov

December 28, 1995 To Winnipeg Jets

Norm MacIver

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Neil Wilkinson

March 1, 1996 To Ottawa Senators

1996 8th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Dave McLlwain

March 20, 1996 To Vancouver Canucks

Markus Naslund

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Alek Stojanov

March 20, 1996 To St. Louis Blues

1996 6th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Jean-Jacques Daigneault

March 20, 1996 To San Jose Sharks

1996 5th round pick

To Pittsburgh Penguins

Kevin Miller

Free agents

Player Acquired from Lost to Date
Troy Murray Colorado Avalanche August 7, 1995
Corey Foster Ottawa Senators August 7, 1995
Peter Taglianetti Boston Bruins August 9, 1995
Peter Allen Boston Bruins August 10, 1995
Mike Hudson Toronto Maple Leafs August 28, 1995
Joe Mullen Boston Bruins September 8, 1995
John Cullen Tampa Bay Lightning September 11, 1995
Ladislav Karabin Buffalo Sabres September 20, 1995

Signings

Player Date
Brad Lauer August 10, 1995
Evgeny Davydov August 10, 1995
Troy Crowder August 10, 1995
Glen Murray September 8, 1995

Other

Name Date Details
Evgeny Davydov September 25, 1995 Released
Perry Ganchar October 15, 1995 Retired

Personnel

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age NHL Draft Birthplace
38 Canada Allen, PeterPeter Allen D R 26 1991 Calgary, Alberta
28 Canada Andrusak, GregGreg Andrusak D R 26 1988 Cranbrook, British Columbia
35 United States Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso G R 31 1983 Boston, Massachusetts
9 Canada Barrie, LenLen Barrie C L 27 1988 Kimberley, British Columbia
55 Canada Berehowsky, DrakeDrake Berehowsky D R 24 1990 Toronto, Ontario
33 Sweden Bergqvist, StefanStefan Bergqvist D L 21 1993 Leksand, Sweden
28 Canada Christian, JeffreyJeffrey Christian LW L 25 1988 Burlington, Ontario
36 Canada Daigneault, J. J.J. J. Daigneault D L 30 1984 Montreal, Quebec
16 United States Dziedzic, JoeJoe Dziedzic LW L 24 1990 Minneapolis, Minnesota
52 United States Fitzgerald, RustyRusty Fitzgerald C L 23 1991 Minneapolis, Minnesota
4 Canada Foster, CoreyCorey Foster D L 26 1988 Ottawa, Ontario
10 Canada Francis, RonRon Francis (A) C L 33 1981 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
68 Czech Republic Jagr, JaromirJaromir Jagr (A) RW L 24 1990 Kladno, Czech Republic
23 Canada Joseph, ChrisChris Joseph D R 26 1987 Burnaby, British Columbia
14 Canada Lauer, BradBrad Lauer RW L 29 1985 Humboldt, Saskatchewan
66 Canada Lemieux, MarioMario Lemieux (C) C R 30 1984 Montreal, Quebec
18 Canada Leroux, FrancoisFrancois Leroux D L 26 1988 Ste-Adele, Quebec
26 Canada McLlwain, DaveDave McLlwain C L 29 1986 Seaforth, Ontario
8 United States Miller, KevinKevin Miller C R 30 1984 Lansing, Michigan
15 Russia Mironov, DmitriDmitri Mironov D R 30 1991 Moscow, Russia
24 United States Moran, IanIan Moran D R 23 1990 Cleveland, Ohio
27 Canada Murray, GlenGlen Murray RW R 23 1991 Halifax, Nova Scotia
93 Czech Republic Nedved, PetrPetr Nedved C L 24 1990 Liberec, Czech Republic
76 United States Park, RichardRichard Park RW R 20 1994 Seoul, South Korea
44 Canada Patterson, EdEd Patterson RW R 23 1991 Delta, British Columbia
51 Canada Roche, DaveDave Roche LW L 20 1993 Lindsay, Ontario
17 Sweden Sandstrom, TomasTomas Sandstrom RW L 31 1982 Jakobstad, Finland
20 United States Smolinski, BryanBryan Smolinski C R 24 1990 Toledo, Ohio
11 Canada Stojanov, AlekAlek Stojanov RW L 23 1991 Windsor, Ontario
2 United States Tamer, ChrisChris Tamer D L 25 1990 Dearborn, Michigan
12 Canada Wells, ChrisChris Wells C L 20 1994 Calgary, Alberta
6 Canada Wilkinson, NeilNeil Wilkinson D R 28 1986 Selkirk, Manitoba
31 Canada Wregget, KenKen Wregget G L 32 1982 Brandon, Manitoba
56 Russia Zubov, SergeiSergei Zubov D R 25 1990 Moscow, Russia

Draft picks

Pittsburgh Penguins' picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.[10]

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1 24 Aleksey Morozov Right Wing  Russia Krylja Sovetov (Russia)
3 76 Jean-Sebastien Aubin Goaltender  Canada Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
4 102 Oleg Belov Center  Russia CSKA Moscow (Russia)
5 128 Jan Hrdina Center  Czech Republic Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
6 154 Alexei Kolkunov Center  Russia Krylja Sovetov (Russia)
7 180 Derrick Pyke Right Wing  Canada Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
8 206 Sergei Voronov Defense  Russia Moscow Dynamo (Russia)
9 232 Frank Ivankovic Goaltender  Canada Oshawa Generals (OHL)
Draft notes[11]

Farm teams

The Hampton Roads Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League finished in fifth place in the East Division, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Richmond Renegades.

The Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL) finished in third place in the Central Division, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Michigan K-Wings.

References

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