1995 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1994–95 season, and the culmination of the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils and the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. It was the Devils franchise's first appearance in the Finals, while the Red Wings returned to the Finals for the first time since 1966. The Devils upset the heavily-favored Red Wings in a sweep to win their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history in their 21st season. The Devils became the sixth team to earn a championship after joining the league in 1967 or later. This was the first of nine consecutive Finals to feature only American-based franchises. This also marked the first of four consecutive sweeps in the finals.

This was also the first time in both the NHL and NBA history where both finals involved the first-seeded team being swept. In addition, the Devils became the first team in NHL history to win the title without having home ice advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16-team format in 1980. Coincidentally, this feat would also be achieved in the NBA by the Houston Rockets that same year, when they won the NBA Championship over the Orlando Magic.

Despite the fact that the regular season was cut short by the owners' lockout, both the season and the Finals were saved at the eleventh hour – this was the latest date that the Stanley Cup was awarded. This record was later matched in 2013 and then broken by the COVID-19 pandemic affected 2019–20 NHL season. The fifth seeded Devils held the record as the lowest seeded team to win the Stanley Cup until the Los Angeles Kings broke the record in 2012. Their regular season winning percentage was also the lowest for a Cup winner since the 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs.

This was the first Cup Finals since 1980 to be played entirely within one time zone.

Paths to the Finals

New Jersey Devils

The Devils entered the playoffs as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, they defeated the fourth-seeded Boston Bruins in five games. In the second round, they defeated the third-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins, also in five games. In the East Final, the Devils upset their rival in the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six games to reach their first Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings were the Presidents' Trophy winner and therefore was the overall #1 seed in the playoffs. In the first round, the Red Wings handled the eighth-seeded Dallas Stars in five games. In the second round, the Red Wings got revenge on the seventh-seeded San Jose Sharks in a sweep after being upset by them in the first round of last year's playoffs, to return to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 1988. In the West Final, the Red Wings faced their fellow rival in the Chicago Blackhawks and defeated them in five games to return to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1966.

Game summaries

Game 1

The series opened on Saturday, June 17 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Few gave New Jersey much of a chance against the NHL's best team. Going into the game, Detroit was a perfect 8–0 at home in the playoffs, and had outscored their opponents 30–11 in their eight home games. In the first three rounds alone the Red Wings had scored 18 power-play goals. Detroit fans, first greeting their opponents with a chorus of boos, then chanted after every Devils name was read during introductions, "Who cares?"

After a scoreless first period, the underdog Devils got on the board first, when Stephane Richer blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle that just squeezed through Detroit goaltender Mike Vernon. The power-play goal came at 9:41 of the second period and gave New Jersey a 1–0 lead. The Red Wings responded less than four minutes later and tied the game on a power-play goal by Dino Ciccarelli at 13:08. The Devils would regain the lead on a goal by Claude Lemieux, a slapper from the slot at 3:17 of the third period. New Jersey would go on to win the game 2–1 and take a one-game-to-none series lead. They played a solid defensive game, frustrating the Red Wings and holding them to just 17 shots. The win was their ninth road win of the playoffs.

Game 2

In game two, Detroit played with a sense of urgency. Vyacheslav Kozlov scored on the power play at 7:17 of the second period to make the score 1–0 in favor of the Red Wings. Devils forward John MacLean would tie the game at 1–1 less than two and a half minutes later with a goal at 9:40. Then, on a Detroit breakaway, New Jersey defenceman and captain Scott Stevens laid a thundering body check on Kozlov as he made a move to the inside past the New Jersey blue line. Although the Red Wings regained the lead on Sergei Fedorov's goal at 1:36 of the third period, the Stevens hit seemed to inspire the Devils. With the midway point of the third period approaching, New Jersey defenceman Scott Niedermayer picked up the puck in his own zone and skated up the ice. Once over the Detroit blue line, he got a step on Detroit defenceman Paul Coffey and fired a shot towards the Detroit net. Although the puck missed the net, it bounced off the end boards and came right back to Niedermayer, who shot it past Mike Vernon to tie the game at 2–2. The game remained tied until late in the third period. Devils defenceman Shawn Chambers fired a shot from the point and the rebound came right to Jim Dowd who backhanded the puck into the net to give the Devils a 3–2 lead. Stéphane Richer would add an empty-net goal as New Jersey won, 4–2.

Game 3

Game three, the first NHL game ever played after the official summer solstice, shifted the series back to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During game one, the Detroit crowd taunted the Devils by collectively jeering "Who cares?" after each player was introduced. The Devils fans countered by raining boos down on the visiting Red Wings and delivering chants of "Red Wings suck." The Devils did their talking on the ice, dominating the Red Wings, scoring five consecutive goals. Bruce Driver, Claude Lemieux, Neal Broten, Randy McKay and Bobby Holik all scored to give the Devils a 5–0 lead with 11:46 remaining in the game. Detroit scored twice on power-play goals by Sergei Fedorov and Steve Yzerman at 16:57 and 18:27 of the third period, but it was insufficient to keep New Jersey from winning a 5–2 game. They now had a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series.

Game 4

The Devils jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Neal Broten's goal just 68 seconds into the game. However, the Red Wings were fighting to stay alive and tied the game on Sergei Fedorov's goal just 55 seconds later. Coffey scored a shorthanded goal at 13:01 to give Detroit a 2–1 lead. New Jersey responded less than five minutes later, at 17:45 on a slap-shot goal by Shawn Chambers that beat Mike Vernon glove-side. Then, in the second period, Scott Niedermayer passed to Broten, who chipped the puck over Vernon's glove from just in front of the net. The goal, Broten's second of the game, gave the Devils a 3–2 lead. New Jersey would increase its lead with goals by Sergei Brylin and Chambers (his second of the game) at 7:46 and 12:32 of the third period. The Devils won the game 5–2 and the series four games to none. It was New Jersey's first Stanley Cup Championship in team history. Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur allowed just seven goals against the Red Wings in the series and Devils forward Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, having led all skaters in playoff goals with 13. He would win the Stanley Cup again the very next season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Broadcasting

This was the first year that coverage of the Cup Finals in the United States was split between Fox and ESPN. Fox broadcast games one and four with Mike Emrick and John Davidson, while ESPN broadcast games two and three with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. This was also the first Cup Finals in which the U.S. national networks had exclusive rights, and no longer could any of the regional rights holders of the participating U.S. teams produce local telecasts of their respective games. However, because the Devils swept the Red Wings and game four of the series was on Fox, their television play-by-play announcer, Emrick, called the win, as he also was part of Fox's lead broadcast team. That game, the first Stanley Cup-clinching game to air on network television in the United States since game six in 1980, drew a 4.7 rating and a 10 share. In the New York City area, the game drew a 10.6 rating and 21 share and in Detroit, 14.1 and 26.

In Canada, Bob Cole and Harry Neale were in the broadcast booth for CBC.

On the radio side, the series was broadcast continentally on NHL Radio with Kenny Albert and Gary Green announcing. Devils team broadcasters Mike Miller and Sherry Ross called the series on local radio on WABC–AM 770 in New York City and Red Wings team broadcasters Bruce Martyn and Paul Woods called the series on local radio on WJR–AM 760 in Detroit.

Team rosters

Detroit Red Wings

New Jersey Devils

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1995 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman following the Devils 5–2 win over the Red Wings in game four

The following Devils players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1994–95 New Jersey Devils

Players

Aftermath

The following season, the Devils missed the playoffs becoming the first defending Stanley Cup champion to miss the playoffs after the Montreal Canadiens in 1970.

The Red Wings, on the other hand, won a then-league record 62 games, but lost in the conference finals in six games to the Colorado Avalanche.

See also

• 1994–95 NHL season
• 1994–95 Detroit Red Wings season
• 1994–95 New Jersey Devils season
• 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs
• List of Stanley Cup champions

Notes

References

• Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.