1995–96 New Jersey Devils season

The 1995–96 New Jersey Devils season was the 22nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 11, 1974, and 14th season since the franchise relocated from Colorado prior to the 1982–83 NHL season.[1] After winning the Stanley Cup in the previous season, and qualifying for the playoffs for six seasons, the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1989, losing their last game of the season with a chance to qualify for the postseason. They became the first defending Stanley Cup champions to fail to make the playoffs since the 1969-70 Montreal Canadiens.

1995–96 New Jersey Devils
Division6th Atlantic
Conference9th Eastern
1995–96 record37–33–12
Home record22–17–2
Road record15–16–10
Goals for215
Goals against202
Team information
General managerLou Lamoriello
CoachJacques Lemaire
CaptainScott Stevens
Alternate captainsKen Daneyko
John MacLean
ArenaContinental Airlines Arena
Average attendance16,219
Minor league affiliate(s)Albany River Rats
Raleigh IceCaps
Team leaders
GoalsSteve Thomas (26)
AssistsSteve Thomas (35)
PointsSteve Thomas (61)
Penalty minutesMike Peluso (146)
Plus/minusBobby Holík and Brian Rolston (+9)
WinsMartin Brodeur (34)
Goals against averageCorey Schwab (2.18)

Regular season

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The Devils were the least penalized team during the regular season, being shorthanded only 319 times.[2] They also had the lowest shooting percentage in the NHL, scoring only 215 goals on 2,636 shots (8.2%).[2]

Final standings

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Atlantic Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers 82 45 24 13 282 208 103
2 New York Rangers 82 41 27 14 272 237 96
3 Florida Panthers 82 41 31 10 254 234 92
4 Washington Capitals 82 39 32 11 234 204 89
5 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 38 32 12 238 248 88
6 New Jersey Devils 82 37 33 12 215 202 86
7 New York Islanders 82 22 50 10 229 315 54
Eastern Conference[3]
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

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1995–96 regular season[4]
October: 6–4–0 (home: 4–3–0; road: 2–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
1 W October 7, 1995 4–0 Florida Panthers 1–0–0 Recap
2 W October 12, 1995 4–1 Winnipeg Jets 2–0–0 Recap
3 W October 14, 1995 4–1 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–0–0 Recap
4 W October 15, 1995 4–3 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–0–0 Recap
5 L October 17, 1995 1–3 Edmonton Oilers 4–1–0 Recap
6 W October 19, 1995 4–2 Detroit Red Wings 5–1–0 Recap
7 W October 21, 1995 4–1 Ottawa Senators 6–1–0 Recap
8 L October 25, 1995 2–4 Vancouver Canucks 6–2–0 Recap
9 L October 28, 1995 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3–0 Recap
10 L October 31, 1995 1–2 @ Edmonton Oilers 6–4–0 Recap
November: 5–6–3 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–4–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
11 T November 2, 1995 3–3 OT @ San Jose Sharks 6–4–1 Recap
12 W November 4, 1995 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings 7–4–1 Recap
13 L November 5, 1995 1–6 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 7–5–1 Recap
14 L November 8, 1995 1–2 Calgary Flames 7–6–1 Recap
15 W November 11, 1995 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers 8–6–1 Recap
16 W November 12, 1995 3–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers 9–6–1 Recap
17 W November 14, 1995 1–0 Hartford Whalers 10–6–1 Recap
18 T November 16, 1995 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins 10–6–2 Recap
19 L November 18, 1995 4–5 Buffalo Sabres 10–7–2 Recap
20 L November 21, 1995 3–4 @ Florida Panthers 10–8–2 Recap
21 L November 22, 1995 1–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 10–9–2 Recap
22 L November 25, 1995 0–2 @ Dallas Stars 10–10–2 Recap
23 T November 27, 1995 1–1 OT @ New York Rangers 10–10–3 Recap
24 W November 29, 1995 4–3 OT Colorado Avalanche 11–10–3 Recap
December: 4–9–1 (home: 4–3–0; road: 0–6–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
25 W December 1, 1995 5–1 Tampa Bay Lightning 12–10–3 Recap
26 L December 2, 1995 1–4 @ New York Islanders 12–11–3 Recap
27 L December 6, 1995 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens 12–12–3 Recap
28 L December 7, 1995 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 12–13–3 Recap
29 W December 9, 1995 4–2 New York Islanders 13–13–3 Recap
30 L December 11, 1995 1–2 Florida Panthers 13–14–3 Recap
31 L December 15, 1995 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings 13–15–3 Recap
32 L December 16, 1995 2–3 Buffalo Sabres 13–16–3 Recap
33 W December 19, 1995 5–4 OT Philadelphia Flyers 14–16–3 Recap
34 T December 21, 1995 2–2 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning 14–16–4 Recap
35 L December 23, 1995 1–2 @ Florida Panthers 14–17–4 Recap
36 W December 27, 1995 5–3 New York Islanders 15–17–4 Recap
37 L December 29, 1995 3–5 @ Winnipeg Jets 15–18–4 Recap
38 L December 31, 1995 0–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks 15–19–4 Recap
January: 7–3–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–1–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
39 W January 3, 1996 1–0 @ Colorado Avalanche 16–19–4 Recap
40 W January 6, 1996 3–1 Washington Capitals 17–19–4 Recap
41 W January 9, 1996 4–2 St. Louis Blues 18–19–4 Recap
42 L January 11, 1996 1–2 San Jose Sharks 18–20–4 Recap
43 L January 13, 1996 2–3 @ Boston Bruins 18–21–4 Recap
44 W January 14, 1996 7–2 Dallas Stars 19–21–4 Recap
45 L January 16, 1996 2–4 Boston Bruins 19–22–4 Recap
46 W January 23, 1996 3–1 Los Angeles Kings 20–22–4 Recap
47 W January 25, 1996 3–1 Washington Capitals 21–22–4 Recap
48 T January 27, 1996 4–4 OT @ Hartford Whalers 21–22–5 Recap
49 W January 30, 1996 3–2 OT @ Vancouver Canucks 22–22–5 Recap
February: 5–3–3 (home: 3–2–1; road: 2–1–2)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
50 T February 1, 1996 1–1 OT @ Calgary Flames 22–22–6 Recap
51 W February 3, 1996 3–2 OT @ Ottawa Senators 23–22–6 Recap
52 T February 7, 1996 1–1 OT Pittsburgh Penguins 23–22–7 Recap
53 W February 10, 1996 3–0 New York Rangers 24–22–7 Recap
54 L February 11, 1996 2–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 24–23–7 Recap
55 T February 16, 1996 2–2 OT @ Buffalo Sabres 24–23–8 Recap
56 W February 18, 1996 3–0 Washington Capitals 25–23–8 Recap
57 L February 19, 1996 1–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers 25–24–8 Recap
58 L February 21, 1996 1–4 Florida Panthers 25–25–8 Recap
59 W February 23, 1996 6–5 Montreal Canadiens 26–25–8 Recap
60 W February 24, 1996 2–1 @ Washington Capitals 27–25–8 Recap
March: 7–4–4 (home: 2–2–1; road: 5–2–3)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
61 W March 1, 1996 6–2 New York Islanders 28–25–8 Recap
62 W March 2, 1996 4–1 @ Ottawa Senators 29–25–8 Recap
63 T March 4, 1996 2–2 OT @ New York Rangers 29–25–9 Recap
64 T March 6, 1996 2–2 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs 29–25–10 Recap
65 W March 9, 1996 4–3 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins 30–25–10 Recap
66 W March 10, 1996 3–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers 31–25–10 Recap
67 T March 13, 1996 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens 31–25–11 Recap
68 W March 15, 1996 5–0 Tampa Bay Lightning 32–25–11 Recap
69 L March 17, 1996 0–3 @ Florida Panthers 32–26–11 Recap
70 L March 20, 1996 1–2 Boston Bruins 32–27–11 Recap
71 L March 22, 1996 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks 32–28–11 Recap
72 W March 23, 1996 3–2 OT @ New York Islanders 33–28–11 Recap
73 W March 26, 1996 6–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 34–28–11 Recap
74 T March 28, 1996 4–4 OT @ St. Louis Blues 34–28–12 Recap
75 L March 30, 1996 1–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 34–29–12 Recap
April: 3–4–0 (home: 1–3–0; road: 2–1–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap
76 L April 2, 1996 1–3 @ New York Rangers 34–30–12 Recap
77 L April 4, 1996 0–1 Hartford Whalers 34–31–12 Recap
78 W April 6, 1996 6–3 @ Hartford Whalers 35–31–12 Recap
79 W April 7, 1996 4–2 New York Rangers 36–31–12 Recap
80 L April 10, 1996 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers 36–32–12 Recap
81 W April 11, 1996 3–2 @ Washington Capitals 37–32–12 Recap
82 L April 13, 1996 2–5 Ottawa Senators 37–33–12 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

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Scoring

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  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts +/- PIM
32 Steve Thomas LW 81 26 35 61 −2 98
12 Bill Guerin RW 80 23 30 53 7 116
15 John MacLean RW 76 20 28 48 3 91
17 Petr Sykora RW 63 18 24 42 7 32
27 Scott Niedermayer D 79 8 25 33 5 46
44 Stephane Richer RW 73 20 12 32 −8 30
16 Bobby Holik C 63 13 17 30 9 58
4 Scott Stevens D 82 5 23 28 7 100
14 Brian Rolston C 58 13 11 24 9 8
9 Neal Broten C 55 7 16 23 −3 14
29 Shawn Chambers D 64 2 21 23 1 18
21 Randy McKay RW 76 11 10 21 7 145
6 Phil Housley D 22 1 15 16 −4 8
25 Valeri Zelepukin LW 61 6 9 15 −10 107
23 Dave Andreychuk LW 15 8 5 13 2 10
11 Jim Dowd C 28 4 9 13 −1 17
6 Tommy Albelin D 53 1 12 13 0 14
8 Mike Peluso LW 57 3 8 11 4 146
19 Bob Carpenter C 52 5 5 10 −10 14
24 Steve Sullivan RW 16 5 4 9 3 8
18 Sergei Brylin LW 50 4 5 9 −2 26
3 Ken Daneyko D 80 2 4 6 −10 115
33 Reid Simpson LW 23 1 5 6 2 79
28 Kevin Dean D 41 0 6 6 4 28
10 Denis Pederson C 10 3 1 4 −1 0
20 Scott Pellerin LW 6 2 1 3 1 0
5 Ricard Persson D 12 2 1 3 5 8
26 Jason Smith D 64 2 1 3 5 86
10 Esa Tikkanen†‡ LW 9 0 2 2 −6 4
30 Martin Brodeur G 77 0 1 1 6
11 Jocelyn Lemieux†‡ RW 18 0 1 1 −7 4
24 Patrik Elias LW 1 0 0 0 −1 0
2 Cale Hulse D 8 0 0 0 −2 15
35 Corey Schwab G 10 0 0 0 31
31 Chris Terreri G 4 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

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  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Devils only.
No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
30 Martin Brodeur 77 34 30 12 1954 173 2.34 .911 6 4433
35 Chris Terreri 4 3 0 0 92 9 2.57 .902 0 210
31 Corey Schwab 10 0 3 0 119 12 2.18 .899 0 331

Awards and records

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Awards

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Type Award/honor Recipient Ref
League
(annual)
NHL All-Rookie Team Petr Sykora (Forward) [5]
League
(in-season)
NHL All-Star Game selection Martin Brodeur[a] [7]
Scott Stevens[a]
NHL Rookie of the Month Petr Sykora (December) [8]
Team Devils' Players' Player Steve Thomas [9]
Hugh Delano Unsung Hero Shawn Chambers [9]
Most Valuable Devil Martin Brodeur [9]
Three-Star Award Martin Brodeur [9]

Milestones

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Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Ricard Persson October 7, 1995 [10]
Denis Pederson October 12, 1995
Petr Sykora October 28, 1995
Corey Schwab November 18, 1995
Cale Hulse December 6, 1995
Patrik Elias December 7, 1995
Steve Sullivan February 23, 1996
1,000th game played Scott Stevens January 9, 1996 [11]
1,000th point Dave Andreychuk April 7, 1996 [12]
1,000th game played Dave Andreychuk April 11, 1996 [13]

Transactions

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Draft picks

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New Jersey's picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft, held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, at Edmonton Coliseum.[14]

Rd # Pick # Player Nat Pos Team (league) Notes
1 18 Petr Sykora   Czech Republic C Detroit Vipers (IHL)
2 44 Nathan Perrott   Canada RW Oshawa Generals (OHL)
3 70 Sergei Vyshedkevich   Russia D Dynamo Moscow (RSL)
3 78 David Gosselin   Canada LW Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL) [b]
4 79 Alyn McCauley   Canada C Ottawa 67's (OHL) [c]
4 96 Henrik Rehnberg   Sweden D Färjestad BK Jrs. (Elitserien)
5 122 Chris Mason   Canada G Prince George Cougars (WHL)
6 148 Adam Young   Canada LW Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
7 174 Richard Rochefort   Canada C Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
8 200 Frederic Henry   Canada G Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
9 226 Colin O'Hara   Canada D Winnipeg Saints (MJHL)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Brodeur and Stevens were voted to the starting lineup.[6]
  2. ^ The Devils acquired the 1995 third-round pick from Detroit for Viacheslav Fetisov on April 3, 1995.
  3. ^ The Devils acquired the 1995 fourth-round pick from Ottawa for Jaroslav Modry on July 8, 1995. The official Devils transaction page incorrectly lists McCauley's pick as the fifth round.[15]

References

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  • "New Jersey Devils 1995-96 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  • "1995-96 New Jersey Devils Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  1. ^ National Hockey League (2010). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
  2. ^ a b "1995-96 NHL Summary". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. ^ "1995-96 New Jersey Devils Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Postseason All-Star Teams". NHL.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  6. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  7. ^ "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  8. ^ "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Levine, Mike (ed.), 2009-10 New Jersey Devils Media Guide, New Jersey Devils Hockey Club, p. 225
  10. ^ "1995-96 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Yannis, Alex (January 10, 1996). "HOCKEY;The Devils Find a Way to Solve Keenan". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2023. SCOTT STEVENS, the Devils' captain, played the 1,000th game of his career.
  12. ^ "Devils 4, Rangers 2 – UPI Archives". UPI. April 7, 1996. Retrieved August 27, 2023. Andreychuk picked up his 1,000th career point on the play.
  13. ^ "1982 NHL Entry Draft -- Dave Andreychuk". www.hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved August 27, 2023. Played in 1,000th career NHL game for New Jersey on April 11, 1996, at Washington.
  14. ^ "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  15. ^ McCauley's profile at HockeyDB.com