1995 Stanley Cup Championship

Lore & Background

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 Final series to feature only American-based franchises. This also marked the first of four consecutive sweeps in the Final series. 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. 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 a later year. Their regular season winning percentage was also the lowest for a Cup winner since the 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs.

Reader's Guide

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 the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six games. The Red Wings were the Presidents' Trophy winner and overall #1 seed. In the first round, they defeated the eighth-seeded Dallas Stars in five games. In the second round, they swept the seventh-seeded San Jose Sharks. In the West Final, they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games. The series opened on June 17 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Game one: Devils won 2–1. Game two: Devils won 4–2. Game three: Devils won 5–2. Game four: Devils won 5–2 to sweep the series. Devils forward Claude Lemieux was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Did You Know?

• This was the first Cup Final since 1980 to be played entirely within one time zone.
• This was the first time in both NHL and NBA history where both finals involved the first-seeded team being swept.
• Game four was the first Stanley Cup-clinching game to air on network television in the United States since game six in a prior year.