1995 Stanley Cup Final
Devils sweep Red Wings for first Stanley Cup.
The 1995 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the NHL's 1994–95 season, pitting the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils against the Western Conference champion Detroit Red Wings. The Devils, appearing in their first Final, swept the heavily favored Red Wings to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. This marked the first of nine consecutive Finals featuring only American-based teams and the first of four consecutive sweeps in the Final series.
Quick Facts
- Dates
- June 17–24, 1995
- Referees
- Bill McCreary (1, 4)
- Terry Gregson (2)
- Kerry Fraser (3)
- Series winner
- Neal Broten (7:56, second)
- Networks
- Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC; United States: (English): Fox (1, 4), ESPN (2–3)
Facts from the source article.
Paths to the Final
The Devils came into the postseason as the East's fifth seed. They knocked off the fourth-seeded Bruins in five games, then the third-seeded Penguins in five more. In the conference final, they stunned their rivals, the top-seeded Flyers, in six games to make their first Stanley Cup Final. The Red Wings, winners of the Presidents' Trophy and the top overall seed, beat the eighth-seeded Stars in five games. They then swept the seventh-seeded Sharks, avenging a previous playoff loss, and took down the Blackhawks in five games to reach the Final for the first time since 1966.
Game summaries
The series opened on June 17 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Detroit had been 8–0 at home in the playoffs, outscoring opponents 30–11. After a scoreless first period, Stephane Richer scored a power-play goal for New Jersey at 9:41 of the second period. Dino Ciccarelli tied the game on a power-play goal at 13:08. Claude Lemieux gave the Devils a 2–1 lead at 3:17 of the third period, and New Jersey held on to win, holding Detroit to 17 shots. In game two, Vyacheslav Kozlov scored a power-play goal at 7:17 of the second period. John MacLean tied it at 9:40. Sergei Fedorov gave Detroit a 2–1 lead at 1:36 of the third period. Scott Niedermayer tied the game after his shot bounced off the end boards and he scored. Shawn Chambers' shot produced a rebound that Jim Dowd backhanded in for a 3–2 lead, and Stephane Richer added an empty-net goal for a 4–2 win.
Broadcasting
Coverage of the Cup Final in the United States was split between Fox and ESPN. Fox broadcast games one and four with Mike Emrick and John Davidson; ESPN broadcast games two and three with Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. This was the first Cup Final in which U.S. national networks had exclusive rights, with no local telecasts by regional rights holders. Game four drew a 4.7 rating and 10 share in the U.S., with a 10.6/21 in New York City and 14.1/26 in Detroit. In Canada, Bob Cole and Harry Neale called the series for CBC. On radio, the series was broadcast continentally on NHL Radio with Kenny Albert and Gary Green.
Stanley Cup engraving
The 1995 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after the Devils' 5–2 win in game four. The following players had their names engraved: Chris McAlpine, who played 24 regular-season games and none in the playoffs, automatically qualified due to the shortened season. Kevin Dean (17 regular-season, 3 playoff games) and Danton Cole (12 regular-season, 1 playoff game) were engraved by exemption. Stephane Richer was engraved as Stephane J. J. Richer to distinguish him from another Stephane J. G. Richer who played in the NHL. Starting in 1994–95, every Cup-winning team except one left off non-playing positions.
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