| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 16–June 10, 1996 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | New Jersey Devils (did not qualify) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Colorado Avalanche |
| Runner-up | Florida Panthers |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Scoring leader(s) | Joe Sakic (Avalanche) (34 points) |
| MVP | Joe Sakic (Avalanche) |
| ← 19951997 → | |
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.
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 five 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 Finals, where home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.
| Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Tampa Bay | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Washington | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | NY Rangers | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Montreal | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | NY Rangers | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Florida | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Florida | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Winnipeg | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Vancouver | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Calgary | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Colorado | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Chicago | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | St. Louis | 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 six was the final game they ever played at the Thunderdome.
| April 16 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3–7 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 00:55 – Dale Hawerchuk (1) 05:56 – pp – Joel Otto (1) 06:27 – Trent Klatt (1) | ||||||
| Jason Wiemer (1) – pp – 15:08 Mikael Andersson (1) – 16:26 |
Second period | 03:41 – John LeClair (1) 07:32 – pp – Eric Lindros (1) 12:01 – Pat Falloon (1) | ||||||
| John Cullen (1) – 04:01 | Third period | 12:27 – Rod Brind'Amour (1) | ||||||
| Daren Puppa 10 saves / 14 shots Jeff Reese 15 saves / 18 shots |
Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 14 saves / 17 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 2–1 | OT | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 01:48 – pp – Dale Hawerchuk (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alexander Selivanov (1) – 04:02 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brian Bellows (1) – 09:05 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Daren Puppa 26 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–5 | OT | Tampa Bay Lightning | Thunderdome | Recap | ||
| Joel Otto (2) – 10:30 Trent Klatt (2) – 18:33 |
First period | 02:52 – pp – Petr Klima (1) | ||||||
| Pat Falloon (2) – pp – 00:39 | Second period | 02:56 – sh – Rob Zamuner (1) 14:43 – Rob Zamuner (2) | ||||||
| Eric Lindros (2) – 03:20 | Third period | 18:41 – Brian Bellows (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 02:04 – Alexander Selivanov (2) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 27 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Jeff Reese 38 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Thunderdome | Recap | |||
| John LeClair (2) – pp – 07:56 Joel Otto (3) – 12:43 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dale Hawerchuk (3) – 16:55 | Second period | 09:24 – pp – Petr Klima (2) | ||||||
| John LeClair (3) – pp – 10:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 21 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Jeff Reese 29 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 1–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:13 – pp – Mikael Renberg (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:50 – Shjon Podein (1) | ||||||
| John Cullen (2) – sh – 17:59 | Third period | 01:21 – pp – Pat Falloon (3) 02:43 – pp – John LeClair (4) | ||||||
| Daren Puppa 20 saves / 24 shots Jeff Reese 3 saves / 3 shots |
Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 23 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Philadelphia Flyers | 6–1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Thunderdome | Recap | |||
| Karl Dykhuis (1) – pp – 05:45 Shawn Antoski (1) – 06:40 Trent Klatt (3) – 14:53 |
First period | 09:27 – John Cullen (3) | ||||||
| Bob Corkum (1) – 12:12 Eric Lindros (3) – 12:59 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Kjell Samuelsson (1) – 05:49 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 27 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Daren Puppa 16 saves / 21 shots Jeff Reese 3 saves / 4 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.
| April 17 | Washington Capitals | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Peter Bondra (1) – 19:23 | First period | 02:53 – Petr Nedved (1) 03:04 – Petr Nedved (2) | ||||||
| Sylvain Cote (1) – 16:12 Todd Krygier (1) – 19:26 |
Second period | 05:47 – pp – Ron Francis (1) 11:09 – Tomas Sandstrom (1) | ||||||
| Sergei Gonchar (1) – pp – 07:58 Todd Krygier (2) – 12:26 Michal Pivonka (1) – en – 19:55 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jim Carey 12 saves / 16 shots Olaf Kolzig 12 saves / 12 shots |
Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Washington Capitals | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 03:03 – pp – Petr Nedved (2) 03:39 – Chris Joseph (1) | ||||||
| Pat Peake (1) – pp – 03:48 Pat Peake (2) – pp – 12:33 Mike Eagles (1) – 14:55 |
Second period | 13:54 – Petr Nedved (3) | ||||||
| Peter Bondra (2) – pp – 11:43 Michal Pivonka (2) – en – 19:08 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Olaf Kolzig 33 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 29 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–1 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
| Ron Francis (2) – pp – 08:29 Glen Murray (1) – 17:52 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Roche (1) – 12:33 Kevin Miller (1) – 16:00 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:29 – pp – Sylvain Cote (2) | ||||||
| Tom Barrasso 38 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Jim Carey 15 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–2 | 4OT | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 13:50 – pp – Michal Pivonka (3) | ||||||
| Jaromir Jagr (1) – sh – 18:42 | Second period | 07:36 – pp – Peter Bondra (3) | ||||||
| Petr Nedved (5) – pp – 08:00 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Petr Nedved (6) – 19:15 | Fourth overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Barrasso 8 saves / 9 shots Ken Wregget 53 saves / 54 shots |
Goalie stats | Olaf Kolzig 62 saves / 65 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Washington Capitals | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:36 – Mario Lemieux (1) | ||||||
| Andrew Brunette (1) – 14:51 | Second period | 10:14 – Francois Leroux (1) 13:15 – Bryan Smolinski (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 16:13 – Jaromir Jagr (2) | ||||||
| Olaf Kolzig 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 39 saves / 40 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–2 | Washington Capitals | USAir Arena | Recap | |||
| Mario Lemieux (2) – pp – 01:57 Jaromir Jagr (3) – pp – 06:03 Ron Francis (3) – 12:24 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:43 – Dale Hunter (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:50 – Sergei Gonchar (2) | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 35 saves / 37 shots | Goalie stats | Jim Carey 2 saves / 4 shots Olaf Kolzig 21 saves / 22 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.
| April 16 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | OT | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | ||
| Saku Koivu (1) – 19:50 | First period | 07:17 – pp – Adam Graves (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Vincent Damphousse (1) – 06:44 | Third period | 05:58 – Niklas Sundstrom (1) | ||||||
| Vincent Damphousse (2) – 05:04 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jocelyn Thibault 43 saves / 45 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Vincent Damphousse (3) – sh – 07:14 Mark Recchi (1) – pp – 18:29 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Lyle Odelein (1) – 05:43 | Second period | 16:01 – Sergio Momesso (1) | ||||||
| Vincent Damphousse (4) – 16:34 Marc Bureau (1) – 19:54 |
Third period | 07:12 – Sergio Momesso (2) 12:17 – Ulf Samuelsson (1) | ||||||
| Jocelyn Thibault 35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 24 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | New York Rangers | 2–1 | Montreal Canadiens | Centre Molson | Recap | |||
| Adam Graves (2) – pp – 15:30 Adam Graves (3) – pp –17:50 |
First period | 19:00 – pp – Mark Recchi (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Richter 16 saves / 17 shots | Goalie stats | Jocelyn Thibault 33 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | New York Rangers | 4–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Centre Molson | Recap | |||
| Mark Messier (1) – pp – 12:56 | First period | 17:11 – David Wilkie (1) | ||||||
| Shane Churla (1) – 06:00 Adam Graves (4) – pp – 09:04 Adam Graves (5) – 13:43 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 09:38 – Saku Koivu (2) 16:16 – Pierre Turgeon (1) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 28 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Jocelyn Thibault 15 saves / 19 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:31 – sh – Jari Kurri (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Saku Koivu (3) – 06:09 Rory Fitzpatrick (1) – 16:22 |
Third period | 00:13 – pp – Brian Leetch (1) 03:03 – Alexei Kovalev (1) | ||||||
| Jocelyn Thibault 39 saves / 42 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 25 saves / 27 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | New York Rangers | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Centre Molson | Recap | |||
| Pat Verbeek (1) – 06:24 Adam Graves (6) – pp – 09:16 Alexei Kovalev (2) – 09:43 Jari Kurri (2) – 10:18 |
First period | 12:41 – pp – Mark Recchi (3) | ||||||
| Doug Lidster (1) – pp – 11:33 | Second period | 02:11 – Pierre Turgeon (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:56 – Patrice Brisebois (1) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Jocelyn Thibault 5 saves / 9 shots Pat Jablonski 16 saves / 17 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.
| April 17 | Boston Bruins | 3–6 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| Rick Tocchet (1) – pp – 15:04 | First period | 07:37 – Ray Sheppard (1) 08:02 – Mike Hough (1) 08:54 – Jody Hull (1) | ||||||
| Rick Tocchet (2) – pp – 03:16 | Second period | 05:08 – pp – Jason Woolley (1) 09:02 – pp – Ray Sheppard (2) | ||||||
| Sandy Moger (1) – 19:27 | Third period | 18:34 – Johan Garpenlov (1) | ||||||
| Bill Ranford 24 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 42 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Boston Bruins | 2–6 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:15 – Ed Jovanovski (2) | ||||||
| Ray Bourque (1) – pp – 07:49 Steve Heinze (1) – pp – 18:39 |
Second period | 04:15 – pp – Ray Sheppard (3) 08:31 – Dave Lowry (1) 11:40 – Dave Lowry (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 14:41 – Jason Woolley (2) 15:34 – Johan Garpenlov (2) | ||||||
| Craig Billington 22 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 37 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 24 | Florida Panthers | 4–2 | Boston Bruins | Fleet Center | Recap | |||
| Jody Hull (2) – 00:30 Scott Mellanby (1) – pp – 10:29 Mike Hough (2) – 12:19 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jody Hull (3) – 15:16 | Second period | 18:40 – Shawn McEachern (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 19:02 – pp – Rick Tocchet (3) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 40 saves / 42 shots | Goalie stats | Bill Ranford 22 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Florida Panthers | 2–6 | Boston Bruins | Fleet Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 04:48 – Adam Oates (1) | ||||||
| Bill Lindsay (1) – 02:49 | Second period | 05:07 – Jon Rohloff (1) 05:49 – Rick Tocchet (4) 10:54 – Cam Stewart (1) | ||||||
| Ray Sheppard (4) – 01:58 | Third period | 05:35 – sh – Adam Oates (2) 16:26 – Shawn McEachern (2) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 22 shots Mark Fitzpatrick 9 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Bill Ranford 18 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| Ted Donato (1) – pp – 16:31 | First period | 03:03 – Brian Skrudland (1) 08:11 – Paul Laus (1) | ||||||
| Jozef Stumpel (1) – 09:33 | Second period | 16:42 – pp – Dave Lowry (3) | ||||||
| Sandy Moger (2) – pp – 12:29 | Third period | 15:03 – Bill Lindsay (2) | ||||||
| Bill Ranford 32 saves / 36 shots | Goalie stats | 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 original Winnipeg Jets as they relocated to Phoenix, Arizona after the season. Game six was the final NHL game played at the Winnipeg Arena.
| April 17 | Winnipeg Jets | 1–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Alexei Zhamnov (1) – 10:06 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 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 | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 13 saves / 14 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Winnipeg Jets | 0–4 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 06:35 – sh – Paul Coffey (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:56 – sh – Doug Brown (1) 12:26 – Kris Draper (2) 14:49 – pp – Igor Larionov (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 30 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 16 saves / 16 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–4 | Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 16:03 – Keith Tkachuk (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Igor Larionov (1) – 02:39 | Third period | 11:40 – Chad Kilger (1) 15:25 – Eddie Olczyk (1) 18:03 – Dave Manson (1) | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 32 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–1 | Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg Arena | Recap | |||
| Vladimir Konstantinov (1) – 01:22 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Igor Larionov (3) – pp – 05:39 Vyacheslav Kozlov (1) – pp – 07:22 Dino Ciccarelli (1) – pp – 19:05 |
Second period | 04:09 – Craig Janney (1) | ||||||
| Greg Johnson (2) – 05:42 Steve Yzerman (1) – pp – 10:42 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 19 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 29 saves / 35 shots | ||||||
| April 26 | Winnipeg Jets | 3–1 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Darrin Shannon (1) – 04:09 | Second period | 08:57 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (2) | ||||||
| Dave Manson (2) – 06:52 Alexei Zhamnov (2) – en – 19:19 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Nikolai Khabibulin 51 saves / 52 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 16 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| April 28 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–1 | Winnipeg Jets | Winnipeg Arena | Recap | |||
| Vyacheslav Kozlov (2) – 03:46 Vyacheslav Kozlov (3) – pp – 14:54 Steve Yzerman (2) – 16:31 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Keith Primeau (1) – en – 19:45 | Third period | 08:22 – Norm Maciver (1) | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 12 saves / 13 shots | Goalie stats | Nikolai Khabibulin 23 saves / 26 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.
| April 16 | Vancouver Canucks | 2–5 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Russ Courtnall (1) – 11:30 | First period | 16:52 – Peter Forsberg (1) | ||||||
| Esa Tikkanen (1) – 13:03 | Second period | 00:28 – Joe Sakic (1) 00:53 – Valeri Kamensky (1) 10:32 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (1) 16:47 – Peter Forsberg (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Kirk McLean 9 saves / 12 shots Corey Hirsch 13 saves / 15 shots |
Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | Vancouver Canucks | 5–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Gino Odjick (1) – 03:00 Alexander Mogilny (1) – 06:09 |
First period | 00:59 – Peter Forsberg (3) 04:52 – Mike Ricci (1) 09:57 – pp – Sandis Ozolinsh (2) | ||||||
| Trevor Linden (1) – 04:08 Martin Gelinas (1) – 10:41 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Gino Odjick (2) – 02:20 | Third period | 10:06 – Joe Sakic (2) | ||||||
| Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 24 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 20 | Colorado Avalanche | 4–0 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Peter Forsberg (3) – pp – 11:49 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Valeri Kamensky (2) – pp – 04:19 Claude Lemieux (1) – pp – 08:27 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Young (1) – 11:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 28 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Corey Hirsch 27 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| April 22 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–4 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| Mike Keane (1) – 14:43 | First period | 16:39 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (2) | ||||||
| Adam Deadmarsh (1) – 03:46 | Second period | 08:30 – pp – Jyrki Lumme (1) 13:18 – Josef Beranek (1) 19:40 – Gino Odjick (3) | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (3) – 06:36 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Corey Hirsch 30 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | Vancouver Canucks | 4–5 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | ||
| Josef Beranek (2) – 15:15 | First period | 09:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (4) | ||||||
| Trevor Linden (2) – pp – 14:29 Trevor Linden (3) – pp – 15:56 |
Second period | 08:17 – Valeri Kamensky (3) | ||||||
| Trevor Linden (4) – 10:08 | Third period | 09:12 – Rene Corbet (1) 14:07 – pp – Joe Sakic (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:51 – Joe Sakic (6) | ||||||
| Corey Hirsch 28 saves / 33 saves | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 16 saves / 20 shots Stephane Fiset 0 saves / 0 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | Vancouver Canucks | General Motors Place | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Curtis Leschyshyn (1) – 04:29 Claude Lemieux (2) – pp – 12:06 |
Second period | 03:43 – pp – Markus Naslund (1) 10:45 – pp – Esa Tikkanen (3) | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (7) – 17:18 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 20 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Corey Hirsch 19 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.
| April 17 | Calgary Flames | 1–4 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| Sheldon Kennedy (1) – 03:23 | First period | 04:33 – pp – Bernie Nicholls (1) 15:34 – Joe Murphy (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:05 – Joe Murphy (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:31 – Eric Daze (1) | ||||||
| Trevor Kidd 22 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 19 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| April 19 | Calgary Flames | 0–3 | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 18:09 – pp – Gary Suter (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 13:50 – Jeremy Roenick (1) 17:00 – Jeff Shantz (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Rick Tabaracci 29 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 33 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Chicago Blackhawks | 7–5 | Calgary Flames | Canadian Airlines Saddledome | Recap | |||
| James Black (1) – 07:15 Eric Daze (2) – 19:03 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tony Amonte (1) – pp – 01:52 Eric Weinrich (1) – pp – 02:29 Brent Sutter (1) – 03:17 |
Second period | 12:24 – Theoren Fleury (1) | ||||||
| Eric Daze (3) – 13:12 Joe Murphy (3) – 13:40 |
Third period | 01:27 – Theoren Fleury (2) 03:07 – Steve Chiasson (1) 05:51 – Cory Stillman (1) 18:50 – Steve Chiasson (2) | ||||||
| Ed Belfour 28 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Trevor Kidd 9 saves / 14 shots Rick Tabaracci 7 saves / 9 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Chicago Blackhawks | 2–1 | 3OT | Calgary Flames | Canadian Airlines Saddledome | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:53 – Jarome Iginla (1) | ||||||
| Jeremy Roenick (2) – 19:51 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Murphy (4) – 10:02 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Belfour 55 saves / 56 shots | Goalie stats | Rick Tabaracci 41 saves / 43 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.
| April 16 | St. Louis Blues | 3–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | |||
| Shayne Corson (1) – pp – 15:13 | First period | 09:49 – pp – Mats Sundin (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brett Hull (1) – 11:13 Stephen Leach (1) – 12:32 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Grant Fuhr 33 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| April 18 | St. Louis Blues | 4–5 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Shayne Corson – pp – 16:51 | First period | 10:24 – Mike Gartner (1) 14:42 – Wendel Clark (1) 18:40 – Mats Sundin (2) | ||||||
| Charlie Huddy (1) – 03:50 Murray Baron (1) – sh – 18:26 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brett Hull (2) – pp – 10:44 | Third period | 14:10 – pp – Kirk Muller (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 04:02 – pp – Mats Sundin (3) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 23 saves / 28 shots Grant Fuhr 11 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 30 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| April 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2–3 | OT | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | ||
| Kirk Muller (2) – pp – 16:04 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mark Kolesar (1) – sh – 03:53 | Second period | 10:28 – Brian Noonan (1) 12:31 – pp – Peter Zezel (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 01:24 – Glenn Anderson (1) | ||||||
| Felix Potvin 37 saves / 40 shots Don Beaupre 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | Jon Casey 19 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| April 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–5 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:42 – sh – Shayne Corson (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 00:45 – Shayne Corson (4) 19:54 – sh – Brett Hull (3) | ||||||
| Kirk Muller (3) – 17:32 | Third period | 07:02 – Brian Noonan (2) 16:11 – Brain Noonan (3) | ||||||
| Felix Potvin 18 saves / 21 shots Don Beaupre 11 saves / 13 shots |
Goalie stats | Jon Casey 41 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| April 25 | St. Louis Blues | 4–5 | OT | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | Recap | ||
| Shayne Corson (5) – pp – 02:31 Chris Pronger (1) – 06:42 |
First period | 10:42 – pp – Mike Gartner (2) 11:55 – pp – Doug Gilmour (1) 14:42 – Todd Warriner (1) | ||||||
| Peter Zezel (2) – 02:33 | Second period | 18:04 – Mike Gartner (3) | ||||||
| Al MacInnis (1) – pp – 19:47 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 07:31 – pp – Mike Gartner (4) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 35 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | Felix Potvin 35 saves / 39 shots | ||||||
| April 27 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Wendel Clark (2) – pp – 07:55 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Al MacInnis (2) – 01:40 Stephen Leach (2) – 14:03 | ||||||
| Felix Potvin 33 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 23 saves / 24 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.
| May 2 | Florida Panthers | 2–0 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Stu Barnes (1) – 05:56 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Lowry (4) – pp – 15:50 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 18 saves / 18 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 13 saves / 15 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Florida Panthers | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | |||
| Ray Sheppard (5) – 19:37 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:47 – Karl Dykhuis (2) 15:39 – pp – John LeClair (5) | ||||||
| Dave Lowry (5) – pp – 04:36 | Third period | 09:11 – Eric Lindros (4) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 44 saves / 47 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 24 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–1 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| Dan Quinn (1) – pp – 16:19 Eric Lindros (5) – pp – 17:13 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:34 – Paul Laus (2) | ||||||
| Trent Klatt (4) – 06:36 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 24 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 31 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–4 | OT | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 01:02 – Rob Niedermayer (1) 08:23 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (2) | ||||||
| Mikael Renberg (2) – 16:18 Rod Brind'Amour (2) – pp – 17:36 |
Second period | 19:54 – Stu Barnes (2) | ||||||
| Mikael Renberg (3) – 18:53 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 04:06 – Dave Lowry (6) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 28 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 43 saves / 46 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | Florida Panthers | 2–1 | 2OT | Philadelphia Flyers | CoreStates Spectrum | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:02 – pp – Eric Lindros (6) | ||||||
| Stu Barnes (3) – 02:39 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Hough (3) – 08:05 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Ron Hextall 40 saves / 42 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–4 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:54 – sh – Bill Lindsay (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| John LeClair (6) – 15:43 | Third period | 02:55 – pp – Rob Niedermayer (3) 11:12 – Dave Lowry (7) 18:35 – Johan Garpenlov (3) | ||||||
| Ron Hextall 26 saves / 29 shots Garth Snow 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 35 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.
| May 3 | New York Rangers | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Niklas Sundstrom (2) – 13:52 | Second period | 05:41 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (4) 16:32 – Jaromir Jagr (5) | ||||||
| Pat Verbeek (2) – 03:22 Mark Messier (2) – 06:44 |
Third period | 07:44 – Dave Roche (2) 12:43 – Mario Lemieux (3) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 25 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 26 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | New York Rangers | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Luc Robitaille (1) – 05:10 Bill Berg (1) – 17:26 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Alexei Kovalev (3) – 01:25 Mark Messier (3) – 06:33 Pat Verbeek (3) – pp – 15:17 |
Second period | 06:21 – pp – Mario Lemieux (4) | ||||||
| Jari Kurri (3) – 19:20 | Third period | 06:27 – Bryan Smolinski (2) 14:19 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (6) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 26 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 7 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Mario Lemieux (5) – 06:33 Mario Lemieux (6) – 10:18 Tomas Sandstrom (2) – 15:25 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:02 – Shane Churla (2) 03:36 – Niklas Sundstrom (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 37 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 29 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| May 9 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 4–1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | Recap | |||
| Jaromir Jagr (7) – 04:35 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Petr Nedved (7) – 01:27 | Second period | 06:28 – pp – Adam Graves (7) | ||||||
| Glen Murray (2) – 12:19 Mario Lemieux (7) – 19:31 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ken Wregget 40 saves / 41 shots | Goalie stats | Mike Richter 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | New York Rangers | 3–7 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:49 – sh – Mario Lemieux (8) | ||||||
| Mark Messier (4) – pp – 05:50 Sergio Momesso (3) – 10:39 Niklas Sundstrom (4) – pp – 13:26 |
Second period | 02:35 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (8) 09:53 – pp – Mario Lemieux (9) 15:04 – Jaromir Jagr (9) 19:47 – Jaromir Jagr (10) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 07:23 – Bryan Smolinski (3) 15:14 – Mario Lemieux (10) | ||||||
| Mike Richter 17 saves / 24 shots | Goalie stats | 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.
| May 3 | St. Louis Blues | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:17 – pp – Dino Ciccarelli (3) | ||||||
| Shayne Corson (6) – pp – 11:03 | Second period | 18:21 – Darren McCarty (1) | ||||||
| Brett Hull (4) – pp – 02:19 | Third period | 17:54 – Sergei Fedorov (1) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 25 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 31 saves / 33 shots | ||||||
| May 5 | St. Louis Blues | 3–8 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Shayne Corson (7) – pp – 13:37 | First period | 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 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Adam Creighton (1) – 08:03 | Third period | 06:19 – pp – Nicklas Lidstrom (2) 17:56 – pp – Steve Yzerman (4) 19:35 – pp – Marc Bergevin (1) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 23 saves / 31 shots Bruce Racine 0 saves / 0 shots |
Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–5 | OT | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | ||
| Vladimir Konstantinov (3) – 01:34 | First period | 04:43 – Al MacInnis (3) 05:05 – Brian Noonan (4) 07:58 – pp – Shayne Corson (8) | ||||||
| Steve Yzerman (5) – pp – 02:57 Steve Yzerman (6) – 08:56 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Yzerman (7) – pp – 03:08 | Third period | 08:46 – Tony Twist (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 3:23 – Igor Kravchuk (1) | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 18 saves / 23 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 30 saves / 34 shots | ||||||
| May 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 0–1 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 04:40 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Osgood 14 saves / 15 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 29 saves / 29 shots | ||||||
| May 12 | St. Louis Blues | 3–2 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Brett Hull (5) – 05:15 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Wayne Gretzky (2) – 18:46 | Second period | 03:05 – Kris Draper (3) | ||||||
| Yuri Khmylev (1) – 09:11 | Third period | 10:23 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (4) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 37 saves / 39 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 14 | Detroit Red Wings | 4–2 | St. Louis Blues | Kiel Center | Recap | |||
| Igor Larionov (4) – 10:17 Kris Draper (4) – sh – 14:05 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dino Ciccarelli (4) – pp – 09:15 Nicklas Lidstrom (3) – 19:31 |
Third period | 15:13 – pp – Stephen Leach (3) 16:12 – Brett Hull (6) | ||||||
| Chris Osgood 18 saves / 20 shots | Goalie stats | Jon Casey 18 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 16 | St. Louis Blues | 0–1 | 2OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second overtime period | 01:15 – Steve Yzerman (8) | ||||||
| Jon Casey 39 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | 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.
| May 2 | Chicago Blackhawks | 3–2 | OT | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | ||
| Enrico Ciccone (1) – 02:02 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 03:10 – Claude Lemieux (3) 04:25 – Joe Sakic (8) | ||||||
| Murray Craven (1) – pp – 01:58 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeremy Roenick (3) – pp – 06:29 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ed Belfour 28 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 23 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| May 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–5 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Tony Amonte (2) – 04:28 | First period | 11:38 – pp – Valeri Kamensky (4) 12:48 – Craig Wolanin (1) 13:41 – Joe Sakic (9) 16:22 – Uwe Krupp (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 15:14 – pp – Adam Deadmarsh (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jeff Hackett 27 saves / 32 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 30 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 6 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–4 | OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 10:39 – pp – Gary Suter (2) | ||||||
| Peter Forsberg (5) – 04:31 Mike Ricci (2) – 12:53 Joe Sakic (10) – pp – 18:37 |
Second period | 19:23 – Joe Murphy (5) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 06:48 – Jeremy Roenick (4) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 00:46 – Sergei Krivokrasov (1) | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 21 saves / 25 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 18 saves / 21 shots | ||||||
| May 8 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | 3OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (11) – 01:41 | Second period | 04:40 – Gary Suter (3) | ||||||
| Valeri Kamensky (5) – pp – 03:49 | Third period | 06:15 – Jeff Shantz (2) | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (12) – 04:33 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 54 saves / 57 shots | ||||||
| May 11 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 14:33 – Chris Simon (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:37 – Valeri Kamensky (6) | ||||||
| Jeremy Roenick (5) – 14:42 | Third period | 05:19 – Scott Young (2) 16:43 – Valeri Kamensky (7) | ||||||
| Ed Belfour 24 saves / 28 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 22 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| May 13 | Colorado Avalanche | 4–3 | 2OT | Chicago Blackhawks | United Center | Recap | ||
| Valeri Kamensky (8) – 04:55 | First period | 12:10 – Denis Savard (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 19:36 – Bernie Nicholls (2) | ||||||
| Joe Sakic (13) – pp – 01:29 Valeri Kamensky (9) – 07:02 |
Third period | 19:00 – Joe Murphy (6) | ||||||
| Sandis Ozolinsh (3) – 05:18 | Second overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 31 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | Ed Belfour 41 saves / 45 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–2 | |
Conference finals
See also: NHL conference finalsEastern 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 Finals 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.
| May 18 | Florida Panthers | 5–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Dave Lowry (8) – pp – 01:52 Tom Fitzgerald (1) – 16:11 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Fitzgerald (2) – 07:12 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dave Lowry (9) – 15:41 Scott Mellanby (2) – pp – 18:48 |
Third period | 07:03 – Kevin Miller (2) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Ken Wregget 20 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 20 | Florida Panthers | 2–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 07:31 – pp – Sergei Zubov (1) 13:57 – pp – Jaromir Jagr (11) | ||||||
| Ray Sheppard (6) – 00:29 Bill Lindsay (4) – 12:19 |
Third period | 08:12 – Mario Lemieux (11) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck35 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 30 saves / 32 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–5 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| Bryan Smolinski (4) – 16:02 | First period | 01:46 – Ray Sheppard (7) | ||||||
| Petr Nedved (8) – 00:27 | Second period | 03:51 – Radek Dvorak (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 00:55 – pp – Stu Barnes (4) 04:55 – Stu Barnes (5) 07:37 – Martin Straka (1) | ||||||
| Tom Barrasso 56 saves / 61 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 26 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–1 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 12:50 – Dave Lowry (10) | ||||||
| Brad Lauer (1) – 08:57 Bryan Smolinski (5) – 16:29 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Barrasso 32 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 22 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| May 28 | Florida Panthers | 0–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 08:48 – pp – J. J. Daigneault (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 18:27 – Petr Nedved (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 18:42 – Tomas Sandstrom (3) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 36 saves / 38 shots | Goalie stats | Tom Barrasso 28 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 30 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3–4 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 07:45 – Scott Mellanby (3) | ||||||
| Kevin Miller (3) – 01:55 Joe Dziedzic (1) – 10:16 |
Second period | 14:56 – Bill Lindsay (5) | ||||||
| Tomas Sandstrom (4) – 12:17 | Third period | 09:35 – Martin Straka (2) 13:58 – Rob Niedermayer (4) | ||||||
| Tom Barrasso 36 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 20 saves / 23 shots | ||||||
| June 1 | Florida Panthers | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | Recap | |||
| Mike Hough (4) – 13:13 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Tom Fitzgerald (3) – 06:18 Johan Garpenlov (4) – 17:23 |
Third period | 01:23 – pp – Petr Nedved (10) | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 39 saves / 40 shots | Goalie stats | 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, 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.
| May 19 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | OT | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | 06:00 – pp – Paul Coffey (3) | ||||||
| Stephane Yelle (1) – sh – 00:44 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Adam Deadmarsh (3) – 01:34 | Third period | 05:33 – sh – Paul Coffey (4) | ||||||
| Mike Keane (2) – 17:31 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 27 saves / 30 shots | ||||||
| May 21 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–0 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| Joe Sakic (14) – pp – 11:36 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Warren Rychel (1) – 05:45 Sandis Ozolinsh (4) – 08:03 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 35 saves / 35 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 17 saves / 20 shots | ||||||
| May 23 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Darren McCarty (3) – 09:22 Nicklas Lidstrom (4) – 10:31 |
First period | 15:37 – pp – Claude Lemieux (4) | ||||||
| Dino Ciccarelli (5) – pp – 05:36 Vladimir Konstantinov (4) – sh – 15:34 Igor Larionov (5) – pp – 17:41 |
Second period | 05:56 – Sandis Ozolinsh (5) 19:44 – Adam Foote (1) 19:51 – Adam Deadmarsh (4) | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom (5) – 00:32 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Osgood 15 saves / 19 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 16 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 25 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 16:23 – Adam Deadmarsh (5) | ||||||
| Dino Ciccarelli (6) – pp – 04:17 | Second period | 07:20 – Joe Sakic (15) | ||||||
| Doug Brown (2) – 14:02 | Third period | 03:25 – pp – Uwe Krupp (2) 19:58 – Peter Forsberg (6) | ||||||
| Chris Osgood 13 saves / 16 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 29 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 27 | Colorado Avalanche | 2–5 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Louis Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:35 – Vyacheslav Kozlov (5) 12:39 – Igor Larionov (6) | ||||||
| Mike Ricci (3) – pp – 02:10 Mike Ricci (4) – pp – 08:00 |
Second period | 04:18 – Sergei Fedorov (2) 12:15 – Doug Brown (3) 19:28 – Greg Johnson (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 21 saves / 26 shots | Goalie stats | Chris Osgood 26 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| May 29 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–4 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Paul Coffey (5) – pp – 15:36 | First period | 11:57 – Joe Sakic (16) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 05:55 – pp – Joe Sakic (17) 07:51 – pp – Mike Ricci (5) 16:44 – Peter Forsberg (7) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Chris Osgood 18 saves / 22 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 23 saves / 24 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–2 | |
Stanley Cup Finals
Main article: 1996 Stanley Cup FinalsSince the formation of the NHL in 1917 this was the only time to date that both teams competing in the Stanley Cup Finals 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 Finals ever played in the Deep South. 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 their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
| June 4 | Florida Panthers | 1–3 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Tom Fitzgerald (4) – 16:51 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 10:32 – Scott Young (3) 12:21 – Mike Ricci (6) 14:21 – Uwe Krupp (3) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| John Vanbiesbrouck 27 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots | ||||||
| June 6 | Florida Panthers | 1–8 | Colorado Avalanche | McNichols Sports Arena | Recap | |||
| Stu Barnes (6) – pp – 07:52 | First period | 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 | Second period | 04:37 – Rene Corbet (3) 05:08 – Valeri Kamensky (10) 10:03 – Jon Klemm (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 17:28 – pp – Jon Klemm (2) | ||||||
| Mark Fitzpatrick 15 saves / 19 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 7 saves / 11 shots |
Goalie stats | Patrick Roy 27 saves / 28 shots | ||||||
| June 8 | Colorado Avalanche | 3–2 | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | |||
| Claude Lemieux (5) – 02:44 | First period | 09:14 – pp – Ray Sheppard (8) 11:19 – Rob Niedermayer (5) | ||||||
| Mike Keane (3) – 01:38 Joe Sakic (18) – 03:00 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 32 saves / 34 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 19 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| June 10 | Colorado Avalanche | 1–0 | 3OT | Florida Panthers | Miami Arena | Recap | ||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Uwe Krupp (4) – 04:31 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Patrick Roy 63 saves / 63 shots | Goalie stats | John Vanbiesbrouck 55 saves / 56 shots | ||||||
| Colorado won series 4–0 | |
Playoff statistics
Skaters
These are the top ten skaters based on points.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Sakic | Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 18 | 16 | 34 | +10 | 14 |
| Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | 18 | 11 | 16 | 27 | +3 | 33 |
| Jaromir Jagr | Pittsburgh Penguins | 18 | 11 | 12 | 23 | +7 | 18 |
| Valeri Kamensky | Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 10 | 12 | 22 | +11 | 28 |
| Peter Forsberg | Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 10 | 11 | 21 | +10 | 18 |
| Petr Nedved | Pittsburgh Penguins | 18 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +3 | 16 |
| Steve Yzerman | Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 8 | 12 | 20 | -1 | 4 |
| Sergei Fedorov | Detroit Red Wings | 19 | 2 | 18 | 20 | +8 | 10 |
| Sandis Ozolinsh | Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 5 | 14 | 19 | +5 | 16 |
| Dave Lowry | Florida Panthers | 22 | 10 | 7 | 17 | +8 | 39 |
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.
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Belfour | Chicago Blackhawks | 9 | 6 | 3 | 323 | 23 | 2.07 | .929 | 1 | 665:54 |
| Patrick Roy | Colorado Avalanche | 22 | 16 | 6 | 649 | 51 | 2.10 | .921 | 3 | 1453:53 |
| Chris Osgood | Detroit Red Wings | 15 | 8 | 7 | 322 | 33 | 2.12 | .898 | 2 | 935:48 |
| Ron Hextall | Philadelphia Flyers | 12 | 6 | 6 | 319 | 27 | 2.13 | .915 | 0 | 759:41 |
| John Vanbiesbrouck | Florida Panthers | 22 | 12 | 10 | 735 | 50 | 2.25 | .932 | 1 | 1331:31 |
See also
References
- 1996: Rogue Claude clips Draper's Wings - CBC Archives
- NHL.com - Skater Stats
- NHL.com - Goalie Stats
| Preceded by1995 Stanley Cup playoffs | Stanley Cup Champions | Succeeded by1997 Stanley Cup playoffs |
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