1996 Stanley Cup playoffs

August 2023 none Stanley Cup playoffs 1996 April 16–June 10, 1996 16 New Jersey Devils(did not qualify) Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers Scoring leader(s) Joe Sakic (Avalanche) 34 points MVP Joe Sakic (Avalanche) 1995 1997 The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 16, 1996. The playoffs ended on June 10, 1996, with the Colorado Avalanche sweeping the Florida Panthers to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in both teams' first Finals appearance. Colorado became the first relocated team to win the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season after relocating from Quebec City prior to the start of the regular season. The New Jersey Devils became the first defending champion to fail to qualify for the playoffs since the Montreal Canadiens in 1970. Five Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs and all of them were eliminated during the opening round. This was the first time that both Florida teams (the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning) made it to the playoffs, each in their inaugural appearance. For the second time in three years and the last time until 2013, all of the Original Six teams reached the playoffs. This was also the last time all three California-based teams missed the playoffs in the same year until 2020. right|175px|thumb|The Stanley Cup, awarded to the champion of the NHL Playoff seeds The top eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The top two seeds in each conference were awarded to the division winners; while the six remaining spots were awarded to the highest finishers in their respective conferences. The following teams qualified for the playoffs: Eastern Conference Philadelphia Flyers, Atlantic Division champions, Eastern Conference regular season champions – 103 points Pittsburgh Penguins, Northeast Division champions – 102 points New York Rangers – 96 points Florida Panthers – 92 points Boston Bruins – 91 points Montreal Canadiens – 90 points Washington Capitals – 89 points Tampa Bay Lightning – 88 points Western Conference Detroit Red Wings, Central Division champions, Western Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 131 points Colorado Avalanche, Pacific Division champions – 104 points Chicago Blackhawks – 94 points Toronto Maple Leafs – 80 points (34 wins) St. Louis Blues – 80 points (32 wins) Calgary Flames – 79 points (34 wins) Vancouver Canucks – 79 points (32 wins) Winnipeg Jets – 78 points Playoff bracket In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series, following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage played at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team played at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). For any series played between Central and Pacific Division teams, the team with home ice advantage had the option of using a 2–3–2 format to reduce travel, with the sites for games five and six switched; if the 2–3–2 format was chosen, the team with home ice advantage then had the additional option to start the series on the road instead of at home. The top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the two division winners seeded 1–2 based on regular season record, and the six remaining teams seeded 3–8. The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system. During the first three rounds, the highest remaining seed in each conference was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth. The higher-seeded team was awarded home ice advantage. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record. main Bracket 0 Conference quarterfinals Conference semifinals Conference finals Stanley Cup Final Eastern Conference Western Conference 1 Philadelphia 4 8 Tampa Bay 2 3 NY Rangers 4 6 Montreal 2 4 Florida 4 5 Boston 1 2 Pittsburgh 4 7 Washington 2 3 Chicago 4 6 Calgary 0 4 Toronto 2 5 St. Louis 4 2 Colorado 4 7 Vancouver 2 1 Detroit 4 8 Winnipeg 2 1 Philadelphia 2 4 Florida 4 2 Pittsburgh 4 3 NY Rangers 1 2 Colorado 4 3 Chicago 2 1 Detroit 4 5 St. Louis 3 2 Pittsburgh 3 4 Florida 4 1 Detroit 2 2 Colorado 4 E4 Florida 0 W2 Colorado 4 Conference quarterfinals Eastern Conference quarterfinals (1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Tampa Bay Lightning This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the first time that the Tampa Bay area was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Game four set an NHL attendance record with 28,183 fans,Kreiser John April 23, 2017 Lightning made NHL history at Thunderdome NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-made-history-at-thunderdome-289030922 and game six was the final game they ever played at the Thunderdome. Tampa Bay Lightning Philadelphia Flyers Thunderdome CoreStates Spectrum April 16 3–7 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tbl-vs-phi/1996/04/16/1995030111#game=1995030111,game_state=final No scoring 00:55 – Dale Hawerchuk (1)05:56 – pp – Joel Otto (1)06:27 – Trent Klatt (1) Jason Wiemer (1) – pp – 15:08Mikael Andersson (1) – 16:26 03:41 – John LeClair (1)07:32 – pp – Eric Lindros (1)12:01 – Pat Falloon (1) John Cullen (1) – 04:01 12:27 – Rod Brind'Amour (1) Daren Puppa 10 saves / 14 shotsJeff Reese 15 saves / 18 shots Ron Hextall 14 saves / 17 shots April 18 2–1 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tbl-vs-phi/1996/04/18/1995030112#game=1995030112,game_state=final No scoring 01:48 – pp – Dale Hawerchuk (2) No scoring No scoring Alexander Selivanov (1) – 04:02 No scoring Brian Bellows (1) – 09:05 No scoring Daren Puppa 26 saves / 27 shots Ron Hextall 25 saves / 27 shots April 21 4–5 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tbl/1996/04/21/1995030113#game=1995030113,game_state=final 02:52 – pp – Petr Klima (1) Joel Otto (2) – 10:30Trent Klatt (2) – 18:33 02:56 – sh – Rob Zamuner (1)14:43 – Rob Zamuner (2) Pat Falloon (2) – pp – 00:39 18:41 – Brian Bellows (2) Eric Lindros (2) – 03:20 02:04 – Alexander Selivanov (2) No scoring Jeff Reese 38 saves / 42 shots Ron Hextall 27 saves / 32 shots April 23 4–1 2 bigmouthsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1996-Stanley-Cup-Playoff-boxscores-COL.pdf No scoring John LeClair (2) – pp – 07:56Joel Otto (3) – 12:43 09:24 – pp – Petr Klima (2) Dale Hawerchuk (3) – 16:55 No scoring John LeClair (3) – pp – 10:17 Jeff Reese 29 saves / 33 shots Ron Hextall 21 saves / 22 shots April 25 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tbl-vs-phi/1996/04/25/1995030115#game=1995030115,game_state=final No scoring 11:13 – pp – Mikael Renberg (1) No scoring 01:50 – Shjon Podein (1) John Cullen (2) – sh – 17:59 01:21 – pp – Pat Falloon (3)02:43 – pp – John LeClair (4) Daren Puppa 20 saves / 24 shotsJeff Reese 3 saves / 3 shots Ron Hextall 23 saves / 24 shots April 27 6–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tbl/1996/04/27/1995030116#game=1995030116,game_state=final 09:27 – John Cullen (3) Karl Dykhuis (1) – pp – 05:45Shawn Antoski (1) – 06:40Trent Klatt (3) – 14:53 No scoring Bob Corkum (1) – 12:12Eric Lindros (3) – 12:59 No scoring Kjell Samuelsson (1) – 05:49 Daren Puppa 16 saves / 21 shotsJeff Reese 3 saves / 4 shots Ron Hextall 27 saves / 28 shots Philadelphia won series 4–2 (2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Washington Capitals This was the third consecutive and fifth overall playoff meeting between these two teams; with Pittsburgh winning three of the four previous series. Pittsburgh won last year's playoff meeting in seven games. Game four of this series is the seventh longest game in NHL history. Game six was the last playoff game at USAir Arena. Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Penguins USAir Arena Civic Arena April 17 6–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/wsh-vs-pit/1996/04/17/1995030121#game=1995030121,game_state=final Peter Bondra (1) – 19:23 02:53 – Petr Nedved (1)03:04 – Petr Nedved (2) Sylvain Cote (1) – 16:12Todd Krygier (1) – 19:26 05:47 – pp – Ron Francis (1)11:09 – Tomas Sandstrom (1) Sergei Gonchar (1) – pp – 07:58Todd Krygier (2) – 12:26Michal Pivonka (1) – en – 19:55 No scoring Jim Carey 12 saves / 16 shotsOlaf Kolzig 12 saves / 12 shots Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 34 shots April 19 5–3 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/wsh-vs-pit/1996/04/19/1995030122#game=1995030122,game_state=final No scoring 03:03 – pp – Petr Nedved (2)03:39 – Chris Joseph (1) Pat Peake (1) – pp – 03:48Pat Peake (2) – pp – 12:33Mike Eagles (1) – 14:55 13:54 – Petr Nedved (3) Peter Bondra (2) – pp – 11:43Michal Pivonka (2) – en – 19:08 No scoring Olaf Kolzig 33 saves / 36 shots Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 33 shots April 22 4–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-wsh/1996/04/22/1995030123#game=1995030123,game_state=final No scoring Ron Francis (2) – pp – 08:29Glen Murray (1) – 17:52 No scoring Dave Roche (1) – 12:33Kevin Miller (1) – 16:00 12:29 – pp – Sylvain Cote (2) No scoring Jim Carey 15 saves / 19 shots Tom Barrasso 38 saves / 39 shots April 24 3–2 4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-wsh/1996/04/24/1995030124#game=1995030124,game_state=final 13:50 – pp – Michal Pivonka (3) No scoring 07:36 – pp – Peter Bondra (3) Jaromir Jagr (1) – sh – 18:42 No scoring Petr Nedved (5) – pp – 08:00 No scoring Petr Nedved (6) – 19:15 Olaf Kolzig 62 saves / 65 shots Tom Barrasso 8 saves / 9 shotsKen Wregget 53 saves / 54 shots April 26 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/wsh-vs-pit/1996/04/26/1995030125#game=1995030125,game_state=final No scoring 08:36 – Mario Lemieux (1) Andrew Brunette (1) – 14:51 10:14 – Francois Leroux (1)13:15 – Bryan Smolinski (1) No scoring 16:13 – Jaromir Jagr (2) Olaf Kolzig 28 saves / 32 shots Ken Wregget 39 saves / 40 shots April 28 3–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-wsh/1996/04/28/1995030126#game=1995030126,game_state=final No scoring Mario Lemieux (2) – pp – 01:57Jaromir Jagr (3) – pp – 06:03Ron Francis (3) – 12:24 01:43 – Dale Hunter (1) No scoring 00:50 – Sergei Gonchar (2) No scoring Jim Carey 2 saves / 4 shotsOlaf Kolzig 21 saves / 22 shots Ken Wregget 35 saves / 37 shots Pittsburgh won series 4–2 (3) New York Rangers vs. (6) Montreal Canadiens This was the fourteenth playoff meeting between these two teams; with Montreal winning seven of the thirteen previous series. They last met in the 1986 Prince of Wales Conference final, which Montreal won in five games. Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers Centre Molson Madison Square Garden April 16 3–2 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyr/1996/04/16/1995030131#game=1995030131,game_state=final Saku Koivu (1) – 19:50 07:17 – pp – Adam Graves (1) No scoring No scoring Vincent Damphousse (1) – 06:44 05:58 – Niklas Sundstrom (1) Vincent Damphousse (2) – 05:04 No scoring Jocelyn Thibault 43 saves / 45 shots Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots April 18 5–3 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyr/1996/04/18/1995030132#game=1995030132,game_state=final Vincent Damphousse (3) – sh – 07:14Mark Recchi (1) – pp – 18:29 No scoring Lyle Odelein (1) – 05:43 16:01 – Sergio Momesso (1) Vincent Damphousse (4) – 16:34Marc Bureau (1) – 19:54 07:12 – Sergio Momesso (2)12:17 – Ulf Samuelsson (1) Jocelyn Thibault 35 saves / 38 shots Mike Richter 24 saves / 28 shots April 21 2–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-mtl/1996/04/21/1995030133#game=1995030133,game_state=final 19:00 – pp – Mark Recchi (2) Adam Graves (2) – pp – 15:30Adam Graves (3) – pp –17:50 No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring Jocelyn Thibault 33 saves / 35 shots Mike Richter 16 saves / 17 shots April 23 4–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-mtl/1996/04/23/1995030134#game=1995030134,game_state=final 17:11 – David Wilkie (1) Mark Messier (1) – pp – 12:56 No scoring Shane Churla (1) – 06:00Adam Graves (4) – pp – 09:04Adam Graves (5) – 13:43 09:38 – Saku Koivu (2)16:16 – Pierre Turgeon (1) No scoring Jocelyn Thibault 15 saves / 19 shots Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots April 26 2–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyr/1996/04/26/1995030135#game=1995030135,game_state=final No scoring 18:31 – sh – Jari Kurri (1) No scoring No scoring Saku Koivu (3) – 06:09Rory Fitzpatrick (1) – 16:22 00:13 – pp – Brian Leetch (1)03:03 – Alexei Kovalev (1) Jocelyn Thibault 39 saves / 42 shots Mike Richter 25 saves / 27 shots April 28 5–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-mtl/1996/04/28/1995030136#game=1995030136,game_state=final 12:41 – pp – Mark Recchi (3) Pat Verbeek (1) – 06:24Adam Graves (6) – pp – 09:16Alexei Kovalev (2) – 09:43Jari Kurri (2) – 10:18 02:11 – Pierre Turgeon (2) Doug Lidster (1) – pp – 11:33 00:56 – Patrice Brisebois (1) No scoring Jocelyn Thibault 5 saves / 9 shotsPat Jablonski 16 saves / 17 shots Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots New York won series 4–2 (4) Florida Panthers vs. (5) Boston Bruins This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the first time that Miami was represented in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Fleet Center Miami Arena April 17 3–6 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-fla/1996/04/17/1995030141#game=1995030141,game_state=final Rick Tocchet (1) – pp – 15:04 07:37 – Ray Sheppard (1)08:02 – Mike Hough (1)08:54 – Jody Hull (1) Rick Tocchet (2) – pp – 03:16 05:08 – pp – Jason Woolley (1)09:02 – pp – Ray Sheppard (2) Sandy Moger (1) – 19:27 18:34 – Johan Garpenlov (1) Bill Ranford 24 saves / 30 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 42 saves / 45 shots April 22 2–6 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-fla/1996/04/22/1995030142#game=1995030142,game_state=final No scoring 06:15 – Ed Jovanovski (2) Ray Bourque (1) – pp – 07:49Steve Heinze (1) – pp – 18:39 04:15 – pp – Ray Sheppard (3)08:31 – Dave Lowry (1)11:40 – Dave Lowry (2) No scoring 14:41 – Jason Woolley (2)15:34 – Johan Garpenlov (2) Craig Billington 22 saves / 28 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 37 saves / 39 shots April 24 4–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-bos/1996/04/24/1995030143#game=1995030143,game_state=final No scoring Jody Hull (2) – 00:30Scott Mellanby (1) – pp – 10:29Mike Hough (2) – 12:19 18:40 – Shawn McEachern (1) Jody Hull (3) – 15:16 19:02 – pp – Rick Tocchet (3) No scoring Bill Ranford 22 saves / 26 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 40 saves / 42 shots April 25 2–6 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-bos/1996/04/25/1995030144#game=1995030144,game_state=final 04:48 – Adam Oates (1) No scoring 05:07 – Jon Rohloff (1)05:49 – Rick Tocchet (4)10:54 – Cam Stewart (1) Bill Lindsay (1) – 02:49 05:35 – sh – Adam Oates (2)16:26 – Shawn McEachern (2) Ray Sheppard (4) – 01:58 Bill Ranford 18 saves / 20 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 22 shotsMark Fitzpatrick 9 saves / 11 shots April 27 3–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-fla/1996/04/27/1995030145#game=1995030145,game_state=final Ted Donato (1) – pp – 16:31 03:03 – Brian Skrudland (1)08:11 – Paul Laus (1) Jozef Stumpel (1) – 09:33 16:42 – pp – Dave Lowry (3) Sandy Moger (2) – pp – 12:29 15:03 – Bill Lindsay (2) Bill Ranford 32 saves / 36 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 29 shots Florida won series 4–1 Western Conference quarterfinals (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Winnipeg Jets This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was the final playoff series for the Winnipeg Jets until 2015. Game six was the final NHL game played at the Winnipeg Arena. Winnipeg Jets Detroit Red Wings Winnipeg Arena Joe Louis Arena April 17 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/win-vs-det/1996/04/17/1995030151#game=1995030151,game_state=final Alexei Zhamnov (1) – 10:06 No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring 02:27 – Kris Draper (1)04:06 – Viacheslav Fetisov (1)04:48 – Greg Johnson (1)08:07 – pp – Paul Coffey (1) Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 34 shots Chris Osgood 13 saves / 14 shots April 19 0–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/win-vs-det/1996/04/19/1995030152#game=1995030152,game_state=final No scoring 06:35 – sh – Paul Coffey (2) No scoring 04:56 – sh – Doug Brown (1)12:26 – Kris Draper (2)14:49 – pp – Igor Larionov (1) No scoring No scoring Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 34 shots Chris Osgood 16 saves / 16 shots April 21 1–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-win/1996/04/21/1995030153#game=1995030153,game_state=final 16:03 – Keith Tkachuk (1) No scoring No scoring No scoring 11:40 – Chad Kilger (1)15:25 – Eddie Olczyk (1)18:03 – Dave Manson (1) Igor Larionov (1) – 02:39 Nikolai Khabibulin 32 saves / 33 shots Mike Vernon 21 saves / 25 shots April 23 6–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-win/1996/04/23/1995030154#game=1995030154,game_state=final No scoring Vladimir Konstantinov (1) – 01:22 04:09 – Craig Janney (1) Igor Larionov (3) – pp – 05:39Vyacheslav Kozlov (1) – pp – 07:22Dino Ciccarelli (1) – pp – 19:05 No scoring Greg Johnson (2) – 05:42Steve Yzerman (1) – pp – 10:42 Nikolai Khabibulin 29 saves / 35 shots Mike Vernon 19 saves / 20 shots April 26 3–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/win-vs-det/1996/04/26/1995030155#game=1995030155,game_state=final No scoring No scoring Darrin Shannon (1) – 04:09 08:57 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (2) Dave Manson (2) – 06:52Alexei Zhamnov (2) – en – 19:19 No scoring Nikolai Khabibulin 51 saves / 52 shots Chris Osgood 16 saves / 18 shots April 28 4–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-win/1996/04/28/1995030156#game=1995030156,game_state=final No scoring Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) – 03:46Vyacheslav Kozlov (3) – pp – 14:54Steve Yzerman (2) – 16:31 No scoring No scoring 08:22 – Norm Maciver (1) Keith Primeau (1) – en – 19:45 Nikolai Khabibulin 23 saves / 26 shots Mike Vernon 12 saves / 13 shots Detroit won series 4–2 (2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (7) Vancouver Canucks This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This series marked the first appearance of a team representing Colorado in the Stanley Cup playoffs in 18 years. The most recent team to represent Colorado prior to this was the Colorado Rockies who lost in the preliminary round in 1978. Vancouver Canucks Colorado Avalanche General Motors Place McNichols Sports Arena April 16 2–5 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/van-vs-col/1996/04/16/1995030161#game=1995030161,game_state=final Russ Courtnall (1) – 11:30 16:52 – Peter Forsberg (1) Esa Tikkanen (1) – 13:03 00:28 – Joe Sakic (1)00:53 – Valeri Kamensky (1)10:32 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (1)16:47 – Peter Forsberg (2) No scoring No scoring Kirk McLean 9 saves / 12 shotsCorey Hirsch 13 saves / 15 shots Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots April 18 5–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/van-vs-col/1996/04/18/1995030162#game=1995030162,game_state=final Gino Odjick (1) – 03:00Alexander Mogilny (1) – 06:09 00:59 – Peter Forsberg (3)04:52 – Mike Ricci (1)09:57 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (2) Trevor Linden (1) – 04:08Martin Gelinas (1) – 10:41 No scoring Gino Odjick (2) – 02:20 10:06 – Joe Sakic (2) Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 32 shots Patrick Roy 24 saves / 29 shots April 20 4–0 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-van/1996/04/20/1995030163#game=1995030163,game_state=final No scoring Peter Forsberg (3) – pp – 11:49 No scoring Valeri Kamensky (2) – pp – 04:19Claude Lemieux (1) – pp – 08:27 No scoring Scott Young (1) – 11:58 Corey Hirsch 27 saves / 31 shots Patrick Roy 28 saves / 28 shots April 22 3–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-van/1996/04/22/1995030164#game=1995030164,game_state=final 16:39 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (2) Mike Keane (1) – 14:43 08:30 – pp – Jyrki Lumme (1)13:18 – Josef Beranek (1)19:40 – Gino Odjick (3) Adam Deadmarsh (1) – 03:46 No scoring Joe Sakic (3) – 06:36 Corey Hirsch 30 saves / 33 shots Patrick Roy 22 saves / 26 shots April 25 4–5 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/van-vs-col/1996/04/25/1995030165#game=1995030165,game_state=final Josef Beranek (2) – 15:15 09:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (4) Trevor Linden (2) – pp – 14:29Trevor Linden (3) – pp – 15:56 08:17 – Valeri Kamensky (3) Trevor Linden (4) – 10:08 09:12 – Rene Corbet (1)14:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (5) No scoring 00:51 – Joe Sakic (6) Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 33 saves Patrick Roy 16 saves / 20 shotsStephane Fiset 0 saves / 0 shots April 27 3–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-van/1996/04/27/1995030166#game=1995030166,game_state=final No scoring No scoring 03:43 – pp – Markus Naslund (1)10:45 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (3) Curtis Leschyshyn (1) – 04:29Claude Lemieux (2) – pp – 12:06 No scoring Joe Sakic (7) – 17:18 Corey Hirsch 19 saves / 22 shots Patrick Roy 20 saves / 22 shots Colorado won series 4–2 (3) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (6) Calgary Flames This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with Calgary winning both previous series. They last met in the 1989 Clarence Campbell Conference final, which Calgary won in five games. Calgary Flames Chicago Blackhawks Canadian Airlines Saddledome United Center April 17 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/cgy-vs-chi/1996/04/17/1995030171#game=1995030171,game_state=final Sheldon Kennedy (1) – 03:23 04:33 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1)15:34 – Joe Murphy (1) No scoring 07:05 – Joe Murphy (2) No scoring 00:31 – Eric Daze (1) Trevor Kidd 22 saves / 26 shots Ed Belfour 19 saves / 20 shots April 19 0–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/cgy-vs-chi/1996/04/19/1995030172#game=1995030172,game_state=final No scoring 18:09 – pp – Gary Suter (1) No scoring 13:50 – Jeremy Roenick (1)17:00 – Jeff Shantz (1) No scoring No scoring Rick Tabaracci 29 saves / 32 shots Ed Belfour 33 saves / 33 shots April 21 7–5 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-cgy/1996/04/21/1995030173#game=1995030173,game_state=final No scoring James Black (1) – 07:15Eric Daze (2) – 19:03 12:24 – Theoren Fleury (1) Tony Amonte (1) – pp – 01:52Eric Weinrich (1) – pp – 02:29Brent Sutter (1) – 03:17 01:27 – Theoren Fleury (2)03:07 – Steve Chiasson (1)05:51 – Cory Stillman (1)18:50 – Steve Chiasson (2) Eric Daze (3) – 13:12Joe Murphy (3) – 13:40 Trevor Kidd 9 saves / 14 shotsRick Tabaracci 7 saves / 9 shots Ed Belfour 28 saves / 33 shots April 23 2–1 3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-cgy/1996/04/23/1995030174#game=1995030174,game_state=final No scoring No scoring 05:53 – Jarome Iginla (1) No scoring No scoring Jeremy Roenick (2) – 19:51 No scoring Joe Murphy (4) – 10:02 Rick Tabaracci 41 saves / 43 shots Ed Belfour 55 saves / 56 shots Chicago won series 4–0 (4) Toronto Maple Leafs vs. (5) St. Louis Blues This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams: with the teams splitting the four previous playoff series. They last met in the 1993 Norris Division Finals, which Toronto won in seven games. Game five was the last playoff game at Maple Leaf Gardens. St. Louis Blues Toronto Maple Leafs Kiel Center Maple Leaf Gardens April 16 3–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-tor/1996/04/16/1995030181#game=1995030181,game_state=final Shayne Corson (1) – pp – 15:13 09:49 – pp – Mats Sundin (1) No scoring No scoring Brett Hull (1) – 11:13Stephen Leach (1) – 12:32 No scoring Grant Fuhr 33 saves / 34 shots Felix Potvin 26 saves / 29 shots April 18 4–5 1 2 bigmouthsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/1996-Stanley-Cup-Playoff-boxscores-COL.pdf Shayne Corson – pp – 16:51 10:24 – Mike Gartner (1)14:42 – Wendel Clark (1)18:40 – Mats Sundin (2) Charlie Huddy (1) – 03:50Murray Baron (1) – sh – 18:26 No scoring Brett Hull (2) – pp – 10:44 14:10 – pp – Kirk Muller (1) No scoring 04:02 – pp – Mats Sundin (3) Jon Casey 23 saves / 28 shotsGrant Fuhr 11 saves / 11 shots Felix Potvin 30 saves / 34 shots April 21 2–3 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-stl/1996/04/21/1995030183#game=1995030183,game_state=final No scoring Kirk Muller (2) – pp – 16:04 10:28 – Brian Noonan (1)12:31 – pp – Peter Zezel (1) Mark Kolesar (1) – sh – 03:53 No scoring No scoring 01:24 – Glenn Anderson (1) No scoring Jon Casey 19 saves / 21 shots Felix Potvin 37 saves / 40 shotsDon Beaupre 0 saves / 0 shots April 23 1–5 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-stl/1996/04/23/1995030184#game=1995030184,game_state=final 08:42 – sh – Shayne Corson (3) No scoring 00:45 – Shayne Corson (4)19:54 – sh – Brett Hull (3) No scoring 07:02 – Brian Noonan (2)16:11 – Brain Noonan (3) Kirk Muller (3) – 17:32 Jon Casey 41 saves / 42 shots Felix Potvin 18 saves / 21 shotsDon Beaupre 11 saves / 13 shots April 25 4–5 1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-tor/1996/04/25/1995030185#game=1995030185,game_state=final Shayne Corson (5) – pp – 02:31Chris Pronger (1) – 06:42 10:42 – pp – Mike Gartner (2)11:55 – pp – Doug Gilmour (1)14:42 – Todd Warriner (1) Peter Zezel (2) – 02:33 18:04 – Mike Gartner (3) Al MacInnis (1) – pp – 19:47 No scoring No scoring 07:31 – pp – Mike Gartner (4) Jon Casey 35 saves / 40 shots Felix Potvin 35 saves / 39 shots April 27 1–2 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-stl/1996/04/27/1995030186#game=1995030186,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring Wendel Clark (2) – pp – 07:55 Al MacInnis (2) – 01:40Stephen Leach (2) – 14:03 No scoring Jon Casey 23 saves / 24 shots Felix Potvin 33 saves / 35 shots St. Louis won series 4–2 Conference semifinals Eastern Conference semifinals (1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Florida Panthers This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Game five was the last game played at the CoreStates Spectrum. Florida Panthers Philadelphia Flyers Miami Arena CoreStates Spectrum May 2 2–0 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-phi/1996/05/02/1995030211#game=1995030211,game_state=final No scoring No scoring Stu Barnes (1) – 05:56 No scoring Dave Lowry (4) – pp – 15:50 No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 18 shots Ron Hextall 13 saves / 15 shots May 4 2–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-phi/1996/05/04/1995030212#game=1995030212,game_state=final Ray Sheppard (5) – 19:37 No scoring No scoring 04:47 – Karl Dykhuis (2)15:39 – pp – John LeClair (5) Dave Lowry (5) – pp – 04:36 09:11 – Eric Lindros (4) John Vanbiesbrouck 44 saves / 47 shots Ron Hextall 24 saves / 26 shots May 7 3–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-fla/1996/05/07/1995030213#game=1995030213,game_state=final No scoring Dan Quinn (1) – pp – 16:19Eric Lindros (5) – pp – 17:13 07:34 – Paul Laus (2) No scoring No scoring Trent Klatt (4) – 06:36 John Vanbiesbrouck 31 saves / 34 shots Ron Hextall 24 saves / 25 shots May 9 3–4 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-fla/1996/05/09/1995030214#game=1995030214,game_state=final 01:02 – Rob Niedermayer (1)08:23 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (2) No scoring 19:54 – Stu Barnes (2) Mikael Renberg (2) – 16:18Rod Brind'Amour (2) – pp – 17:36 No scoring Mikael Renberg (3) – 18:53 04:06 – Dave Lowry (6) No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 43 saves / 46 shots Ron Hextall 28 saves / 32 shots May 12 2–1 2 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-phi/1996/05/12/1995030215#game=1995030215,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring 07:02 – pp – Eric Lindros (6) Stu Barnes (3) – 02:39 No scoring Mike Hough (3) – 08:05 No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 shots Ron Hextall 40 saves / 42 shots May 14 1–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-fla/1996/05/14/1995030216#game=1995030216,game_state=final 14:54 – sh – Bill Lindsay (3) No scoring No scoring No scoring 02:55 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (3)11:12 – Dave Lowry (7)18:35 – en – Johan Garpenlov (3) John LeClair (6) – 15:43 John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 shots Ron Hextall 26 saves / 29 shotsGarth Snow 0 saves / 0 shots Florida won series 4–2 (2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (3) New York Rangers This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams; with Pittsburgh winning both previous series. They last met in the 1992 Patrick Division Finals, which Pittsburgh won in six games. New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden Civic Arena May 3 3–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-pit/1996/05/03/1995030221#game=1995030221,game_state=final No scoring No scoring Niklas Sundstrom (2) – 13:52 05:41 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4)16:32 – Jaromir Jagr (5) Pat Verbeek (2) – 03:22Mark Messier (2) – 06:44 07:44 – Dave Roche (2)12:43 – Mario Lemieux (3) Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots Ken Wregget 26 saves / 29 shots May 5 6–3 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-pit/1996/05/05/1995030222#game=1995030222,game_state=final Luc Robitaille (1) – 05:10Bill Berg (1) – 17:26 No scoring Alexei Kovalev (3) – 01:25Mark Messier (3) – 06:33Pat Verbeek (3) – pp – 15:17 06:21 – pp – Mario Lemieux (4) Jari Kurri (3) – en – 19:20 06:27 – Bryan Smolinski (2)14:19 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (6) Mike Richter 25 saves / 28 shots Ken Wregget 26 saves / 31 shots May 7 3–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-nyr/1996/05/07/1995030223#game=1995030223,game_state=final No scoring Mario Lemieux (5) – 06:33Mario Lemieux (6) – 10:18Tomas Sandstrom (2) – 15:25 03:02 – Shane Churla (2)03:36 – Niklas Sundstrom (3) No scoring No scoring No scoring Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots Ken Wregget 37 saves / 39 shots May 9 4–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-nyr/1996/05/09/1995030224#game=1995030224,game_state=final No scoring Jaromir Jagr (7) – 04:35 06:28 – pp – Adam Graves (7) Petr Nedved (7) – 01:27 No scoring Glen Murray (2) – 12:19Mario Lemieux (7) – en – 19:31 Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots Ken Wregget 40 saves / 41 shots May 11 3–7 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-pit/1996/05/11/1995030225#game=1995030225,game_state=final No scoring 11:49 – sh – Mario Lemieux (8) Mark Messier (4) – pp – 05:50Sergio Momesso (3) – 10:39Niklas Sundstrom (4) – pp – 13:26 02:35 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (8)09:53 – pp – Mario Lemieux (9)15:04 – Jaromir Jagr (9)19:47 – Jaromir Jagr (10) No scoring 07:23 – Bryan Smolinski (3)15:14 – Mario Lemieux (10) Mike Richter 17 saves / 24 shots Ken Wregget 29 saves / 32 shots Pittsburgh won series 4–1 Western Conference semifinals (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) St. Louis Blues This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams; with St. Louis winning two of the three previous series. They last met in the 1991 Norris Division Semifinals, which St. Louis won in seven games. St. Louis Blues Detroit Red Wings Kiel Center Joe Louis Arena May 3 2–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1996/05/03/1995030231#game=1995030231,game_state=final No scoring 15:17 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (3) Shayne Corson (6) – pp – 11:03 18:21 – Darren McCarty (1) Brett Hull (4) – pp – 02:19 17:54 – Sergei Fedorov (1) Jon Casey 25 saves / 28 shots Chris Osgood 31 saves / 33 shots May 5 3–8 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1996/05/05/1995030232#game=1995030232,game_state=final Shayne Corson (7) – pp – 13:37 03:40 – Steve Yzerman (3)04:45 – Vladimir Konstantinov (2)07:02 – Nicklas Lidstrom (1)11:41 – Darren McCarty (2)15:40 – Martin Lapointe (1) Peter Zezel (3) – 02:48 No scoring Adam Creighton (1) – 08:03 06:19 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (2)17:56 – pp – Steve Yzerman (4)19:35 – pp – Marc Bergevin (1) Jon Casey 23 saves / 31 shotsBruce Racine 0 saves / 0 shots Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots May 8 4–5 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1996/05/08/1995030233#game=1995030233,game_state=final 04:43 – Al MacInnis (3)05:05 – Brian Noonan (4)07:58 – pp – Shayne Corson (8) Vladimir Konstantinov (3) – 01:34 No scoring Steve Yzerman (5) – pp – 02:57Steve Yzerman (6) – 08:56 08:46 – Tony Twist (1) Steve Yzerman (7) – pp – 03:08 3:23 – Igor Kravchuk (1) No scoring Jon Casey 30 saves / 34 shots Mike Vernon 18 saves / 23 shots May 10 0–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1996/05/10/1995030234#game=1995030234,game_state=final No scoring No scoring 04:40 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (1) No scoring No scoring No scoring Jon Casey 29 saves / 29 shots Chris Osgood 14 saves / 15 shots May 12 3–2 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1996/05/12/1995030235#game=1995030235,game_state=final Brett Hull (5) – 05:15 No scoring Wayne Gretzky (2) – 18:46 03:05 – Kris Draper (3) Yuri Khmylev (1) – 09:11 10:23 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (4) Jon Casey 37 saves / 39 shots Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots May 14 4–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-stl/1996/05/14/1995030236#game=1995030236,game_state=final No scoring Igor Larionov (4) – 10:17Kris Draper (4) – sh – 14:05 No scoring No scoring 15:13 – pp – Stephen Leach (3)16:12 – Brett Hull (6) Dino Ciccarelli (4) – pp – 09:15Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – 19:31 Jon Casey 18 saves / 22 shots Chris Osgood 18 saves / 20 shots May 16 0–1 2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-det/1996/05/16/1995030237#game=1995030237,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring 01:15 – Steve Yzerman (8) Jon Casey 39 saves / 40 shots Chris Osgood 29 saves / 29 shots Detroit won series 4–3 (2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche United Center McNichols Sports Arena May 2 3–2 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1996/05/02/1995030241#game=1995030241,game_state=final Enrico Ciccone (1) – 02:02 No scoring No scoring 03:10 – Claude Lemieux (3)04:25 – Joe Sakic (8) Murray Craven (1) – pp – 01:58 No scoring Jeremy Roenick (3) – pp – 06:29 No scoring Ed Belfour 28 saves / 30 shots Patrick Roy 23 saves / 26 shots May 4 1–5 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1996/05/04/1995030242#game=1995030242,game_state=final Tony Amonte (2) – 04:28 11:38 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (4)12:48 – Craig Wolanin (1)13:41 – Joe Sakic (9)16:22 – Uwe Krupp (1) No scoring 15:14 – pp – Adam Deadmarsh (2) No scoring No scoring Jeff Hackett 27 saves / 32 shots Patrick Roy 30 saves / 31 shots May 6 3–4 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1996/05/06/1995030243#game=1995030243,game_state=final 10:39 – pp – Gary Suter (2) No scoring 19:23 – Joe Murphy (5) Peter Forsberg (5) – 04:31Mike Ricci (2) – 12:53Joe Sakic (10) – pp – 18:37 06:48 – Jeremy Roenick (4) No scoring 00:46 – Sergei Krivokrasov (1) No scoring Ed Belfour 18 saves / 21 shots Patrick Roy 21 saves / 25 shots May 8 3–2 3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1996/05/08/1995030244#game=1995030244,game_state=final No scoring No scoring 04:40 – Gary Suter (3) Joe Sakic (11) – 01:41 06:15 – Jeff Shantz (2) Valeri Kamensky (5) – pp – 03:49 No scoring Joe Sakic (12) – 04:33 Ed Belfour 54 saves / 57 shots Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots May 11 1–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-col/1996/05/11/1995030245#game=1995030245,game_state=final No scoring 14:33 – Chris Simon (1) No scoring 12:37 – Valeri Kamensky (6) Jeremy Roenick (5) – 14:42 05:19 – Scott Young (2)16:43 – Valeri Kamensky (7) Ed Belfour 24 saves / 28 shots Patrick Roy 22 saves / 23 shots May 13 4–3 2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-chi/1996/05/13/1995030246#game=1995030246,game_state=final 12:10 – Denis Savard (1) Valeri Kamensky (8) – 04:55 19:36 – Bernie Nicholls (2) No scoring 19:00 – Joe Murphy (6) Joe Sakic (13) – pp – 01:29Valeri Kamensky (9) – 07:02 No scoring Sandis Ozolinsh (3) – 05:18 Ed Belfour 41 saves / 45 shots Patrick Roy 31 saves / 34 shots Colorado won series 4–2 Conference finals NHL conference finals Eastern Conference final (2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (4) Florida Panthers This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was Pittsburgh's third Conference Final appearance. They last made the Conference Final in 1992, where they defeated the Boston Bruins in four games. This was Florida's first Conference Final appearance in their third season since entering the league as an expansion team in 1993. Despite being outshot 33–25 in game one, the Panthers came out on top with an impressive 5–1 win. Florida goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck made 32 saves and Florida forward Tom Fitzgerald scored twice. The Penguins wanting to avoid going down two games to none against the Panthers came out with a better effort in game two and won the game 3–2 and evened the series at one game each. In game three, the Panthers fired an incredible 61 shots on Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso and it paid off as the Panthers won 5–2 to take a 2–1 series lead, with Florida forward Stu Barnes scoring twice. Going into the third period of game four, the Penguins trailed 1–0. Pittsburgh tied the score on Brad Lauer's goal with 11:03 remaining in regulation, then Bryan Smolinski scored the go ahead goal with 3:31 to go to give the Penguins a 2–1 lead. Pittsburgh hung on to win the game 2–1 and tie the series at two games apiece. In game five, the Penguins shut-out the Panthers 3–0, with Tom Barrasso stopping all 28 Florida shots he faced. Leading the series three games to two, Pittsburgh looked to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in game six. The Penguins led 2–1 in the second period, but the Panthers scored three of the next four goals and edged the Penguins 4–3 to tie the series at 3–3. In game seven, Florida took a 1–0 lead on Mike Hough's goal at 13:13 of the first period. After a scoreless second period, Pittsburgh tied the game on Petr Nedved's power-play goal at 1:23 of the third period. The Panthers regained the lead on Tom Fitzgerald's bizarre 58-foot slapshot at 6:18 and got an insurance goal from Johan Garpenlov at 17:23. Florida hung on to win the game 3–1 and the series four games to three, John Vanbiesbrouck making 39 saves in the victory. This was the last playoff series victory for the Panthers until 2022 when they beat the Washington Capitals in six games, and was their last appearance in the Conference Finals until 2023. Florida Panthers Pittsburgh Penguins Miami Arena Civic Arena May 18 5–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-pit/1996/05/18/1995030311#game=1995030311,game_state=final Dave Lowry (8) – pp – 01:52Tom Fitzgerald (1) – 16:11 No scoring Tom Fitzgerald (2) – 07:12 No scoring Dave Lowry (9) – 15:41Scott Mellanby (2) – pp – 18:48 07:03 – Kevin Miller (2) John Vanbiesbrouck 32 saves / 33 shots Ken Wregget 20 saves / 25 shots May 20 2–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-pit/1996/05/20/1995030312#game=1995030312,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring 07:31 – pp – Sergei Zubov (1)13:57 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (11) Ray Sheppard (6) – 00:29Bill Lindsay (4) – 12:19 08:12 – Mario Lemieux (11) John Vanbiesbrouck35 saves / 38 shots Tom Barrasso 30 saves / 32 shots May 24 2–5 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-fla/1996/05/24/1995030313#game=1995030313,game_state=final 01:46 – Ray Sheppard (7) Bryan Smolinski (4) – 16:02 03:51 – Radek Dvorak (1) Petr Nedved (8) – 00:27 00:55 – pp – Stu Barnes (4)04:55 – Stu Barnes (5)07:37 – Martin Straka (1) No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 28 shots Tom Barrasso 56 saves / 61 shots May 26 2–1 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-fla/1996/05/26/1995030314#game=1995030314,game_state=final No scoring No scoring 12:50 – Dave Lowry (10) No scoring No scoring Brad Lauer (1) – 08:57Bryan Smolinski (5) – 16:29 John Vanbiesbrouck 22 saves / 24 shots Tom Barrasso 32 saves / 33 shots May 28 0–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-pit/1996/05/28/1995030315#game=1995030315,game_state=final No scoring 08:48 – pp – J. J. Daigneault (1) No scoring 18:27 – Petr Nedved (9) No scoring 18:42 – en – Tomas Sandstrom (3) John Vanbiesbrouck 36 saves / 38 shots Tom Barrasso 28 saves / 28 shots May 30 3–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-fla/1996/05/30/1995030316#game=1995030316,game_state=final 07:45 – Scott Mellanby (3) No scoring 14:56 – Bill Lindsay (5) Kevin Miller (3) – 01:55Joe Dziedzic (1) – 10:16 09:35 – Martin Straka (2)13:58 – Rob Niedermayer (4) Tomas Sandstrom (4) – 12:17 John Vanbiesbrouck 20 saves / 23 shots Tom Barrasso 36 saves / 40 shots June 1 3–1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-pit/1996/06/01/1995030317#game=1995030317,game_state=final Mike Hough (4) – 13:13 No scoring No scoring No scoring Tom Fitzgerald (3) – 06:18Johan Garpenlov (4) – 17:23 01:23 – pp – Petr Nedved (10) John Vanbiesbrouck 39 saves / 40 shots Tom Barrasso 25 saves / 28 shots Florida won series 4–3 Western Conference final (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Colorado Avalanche This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. This was Detroit's second consecutive and fourth overall Conference Final appearance. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in the previous year in five games. This was Colorado's third Conference Final appearance in franchise history and first since relocating to Colorado. They last went to the Conference Final in 1985, which they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games when the team was known as the Quebec Nordiques. Game 1 was a hard-fought battle. The score was tied at two in the first overtime period when Mike Keane scored at 17:31 to give Colorado a 3–2 win. The Avalanche won Game 2, 3–0, with Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy stopping all 35 shots faced. Down two games to none, the Red Wings played solidly in Game 3. Detroit defencemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov combined to score three goals (including a shorthanded goal by Konstantinov) and Detroit won 6–4. In game four the Red Wings outshot the Avalanche 31–17 but lost the game 4–2 thanks to 29 saves made by Patrick Roy. Detroit played with desperation and determination in game five. Inspired by Vladimir Konstantinov's big body check on Avalanche forward Claude Lemieux, the Red Wings went on to win 5–2. The Red Wings victory forced a Game 6 back in Colorado. Game 6 became famous in the history of the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry. At 14:07 of the first period, Detroit forward Kris Draper was down along the half-boards at centre ice when Colorado forward Claude Lemieux checked Draper's head from behind into the edge of the bench. The hit sent Draper to the hospital with a broken jaw and a shattered cheek and orbital bone, which required surgery and stitches. Draper did not return to play until the middle of the 1996–97 season. While Lemieux was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct match penalty for the hit,1996: Rogue Claude clips Draper's Wings - CBC Archives the Avalanche went on to win the game 4–1 and completed the upset. The controversial hit on Draper by Lemieux was a catalyst (along with a rough hit by Kozlov on Foote in Game 3) for the Detroit–Colorado rivalry that endured for a decade. In a 2021 Documentary, Lemieux and Draper moved past the incident and are now friends. Colorado Avalanche Detroit Red Wings McNichols Sports Arena Joe Louis Arena May 19 3–2 1 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1996/05/19/1995030321#game=1995030321,game_state=final No scoring 06:00 – pp – Paul Coffey (3) Stephane Yelle (1) – sh – 00:44 No scoring Adam Deadmarsh (3) – 01:34 05:33 – sh – Paul Coffey (4) Mike Keane (2) – 17:31 No scoring Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots Chris Osgood 27 saves / 30 shots May 21 3–0 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1996/05/21/1995030322#game=1995030322,game_state=final Joe Sakic (14) – pp – 11:36 No scoring Warren Rychel (1) – 05:45Sandis Ozolinsh (4) – 08:03 No scoring No scoring No scoring Patrick Roy 35 saves / 35 shots Chris Osgood 17 saves / 20 shots May 23 6–4 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1996/05/23/1995030323#game=1995030323,game_state=final 15:37 – pp – Claude Lemieux (4) Darren McCarty (3) – 09:22Nicklas Lidstrom (4) – 10:31 05:56 – Sandis Ozolinsh (5)19:44 – Adam Foote (1)19:51 – Adam Deadmarsh (4) Dino Ciccarelli (5) – pp – 05:36Vladimir Konstantinov (4) – sh – 15:34Igor Larionov (5) – pp – 17:41 No scoring Nicklas Lidstrom (5) – 00:32 Patrick Roy 16 saves / 22 shots Chris Osgood 15 saves / 19 shots May 25 2–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1996/05/25/1995030324#game=1995030324,game_state=final 16:23 – Adam Deadmarsh (5) No scoring 07:20 – Joe Sakic (15) Dino Ciccarelli (6) – pp – 04:17 03:25 – pp – Uwe Krupp (2)19:58 – en – Peter Forsberg (6) Doug Brown (2) – 14:02 Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots Chris Osgood 13 saves / 16 shots May 27 2–5 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-det/1996/05/27/1995030325#game=1995030325,game_state=final No scoring 11:35 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (5)12:39 – Igor Larionov (6) Mike Ricci (3) – pp – 02:10Mike Ricci (4) – pp – 08:00 04:18 – Sergei Fedorov (2)12:15 – Doug Brown (3)19:28 – Greg Johnson (3) No scoring No scoring Patrick Roy 21 saves / 26 shots Chris Osgood 26 saves / 28 shots May 29 1–4 1 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/det-vs-col/1996/05/29/1995030326#game=1995030326,game_state=final 11:57 – Joe Sakic (16) Paul Coffey (5) – pp – 15:36 05:55 – pp – Joe Sakic (17)07:51 – pp – Mike Ricci (5)16:44 – Peter Forsberg (7) No scoring No scoring No scoring Patrick Roy 23 saves / 24 shots Chris Osgood 18 saves / 22 shots Colorado won series 4–2 Stanley Cup Final 1996 Stanley Cup Final Since the formation of the NHL in 1917 this was the only time to date that both teams competing in the Stanley Cup Final made their first appearance. This was the first and to date only playoff series between these two teams. This was also the first Stanley Cup Final ever played in a Southern state. Colorado made their first Finals appearance in their first season in Denver, this was the franchise's seventeenth season in the league, while Florida made their first Finals appearance in just their third season of existence. Colorado became the third NHL team to win the Stanley Cup following a relocation, and the first to do so in their inaugural season after relocation. This was the Panthers' last Finals appearance until 2023. The Avalanche swept the Panthers to win not just their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history, but also the first major professional sports championship for the city of Denver. Florida Panthers Colorado Avalanche Miami Arena McNichols Sports Arena June 4 1–3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-col/1996/06/04/1995030411#game=1995030411,game_state=final Tom Fitzgerald (4) – 16:51 No scoring No scoring 10:32 – Scott Young (3)12:21 – Mike Ricci (6)14:21 – Uwe Krupp (3) No scoring No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 27 saves / 30 shots Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots June 6 1–8 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/fla-vs-col/1996/06/06/1995030412#game=1995030412,game_state=final Stu Barnes (6) – pp – 07:52 04:11 – Peter Forsberg (8)10:43 – pp – Rene Corbet (2)13:46 – pp – Peter Forsberg (9)15:05 – pp – Peter Forsberg (10) No scoring 04:37 – Rene Corbet (3)05:08 – Valeri Kamensky (10)10:03 – Jon Klemm (1) No scoring 17:28 – pp – Jon Klemm (2) John Vanbiesbrouck 7 saves / 11 shotsMark Fitzpatrick 15 saves / 19 shots Patrick Roy 27 saves / 28 shots June 8 3–2 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-fla/1996/06/08/1995030413#game=1995030413,game_state=final 09:14 – pp – Ray Sheppard (8)11:19 – Rob Niedermayer (5) Claude Lemieux (5) – 02:44 No scoring Mike Keane (3) – 01:38Joe Sakic (18) – 03:00 No scoring No scoring John Vanbiesbrouck 19 saves / 22 shots Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots June 10 1–0 3 2 www.nhl.com/gamecenter/col-vs-fla/1996/06/10/1995030414#game=1995030414,game_state=final No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring No scoring Uwe Krupp (4) – 04:31 John Vanbiesbrouck 55 saves / 56 shots Patrick Roy 63 saves / 63 shots Colorado won series 4–0 Playoff statistics Skaters These are the top ten skaters based on points.NHL.com - Skater Stats Player Team GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points +/– Plus/minus PIM Penalties in minutesJoe SakicColorado Avalanche22181634+1014Mario LemieuxPittsburgh Penguins18111627+333Jaromir JagrPittsburgh Penguins18111223+718Valeri KamenskyColorado Avalanche22101222+1128Peter ForsbergColorado Avalanche22101121+1018Petr NedvedPittsburgh Penguins18101020+316Steve YzermanDetroit Red Wings1881220-14Sergei FedorovDetroit Red Wings1921820+810Sandis OzolinshColorado Avalanche2251419+516Dave LowryFlorida Panthers2210717+839 Goaltenders This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.NHL.com - Goalie Stats Player Team GP Games played W Wins L Losses SA Shots against GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SV% Save percentage SO Shutouts TOI Time on ice (minutes:seconds) Ed Belfour Chicago Blackhawks 9 6 3 323 23 2.07 .929 1 665-54 665:54 Patrick Roy Colorado Avalanche 22 16 6 649 51 2.10 .921 3 1453-53 1453:53 Chris Osgood Detroit Red Wings 15 8 7 322 33 2.12 .898 2 935-48 935:48 Ron Hextall Philadelphia Flyers 12 6 6 319 27 2.13 .915 0 759-41 759:41 John Vanbiesbrouck Florida Panthers 22 12 10 735 50 2.25 .932 1 1331-31 1331:31 See also 1995–96 NHL season Red Wings-Avalanche brawl 1997 References 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs Stanley Cup Champions Play Category:Stanley Cup playoffs