1995–96 Detroit Red Wings season

1995–96 Detroit Red Wings
Presidents' Trophy winners
Central Division champions
Division	1st Central
Conference	1st Western
1995–96 record	62–13–7
Home record	36–3–2
Road record	26–10–5
Goals for	325
Goals against	181
Team information
General manager	Scotty Bowman (interim) Jim Devellano (interim)
Coach	Scotty Bowman
Captain	Steve Yzerman
Alternate captains	Paul Coffey Sergei Fedorov
Arena	Joe Louis Arena
Average attendance	19,923 (100%) Total: 816,850
Minor league affiliate(s)	Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) Toledo Storm (ECHL) Jacksonville Bullets (SHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Sergei Fedorov (39)
Assists	Sergei Fedorov (68)
Points	Sergei Fedorov (107)
Penalty minutes	Keith Primeau (168)
Plus/minus	Vladimir Konstantinov (+60)
Wins	Chris Osgood (39)
Goals against average	Kevin Hodson (1.10)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings season was the 70th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926.

Regarded as one of the greatest regular seasons in NHL history, the Red Wings eclipsed the all-time record of most regular-season wins with 62, a record previously set at 60 by the 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens. Their 131 points during the regular season were the most since the 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens accumulated 132 points (still an all-time record). They surpassed most of that year's NBA season win records, the 64–18 Seattle SuperSonics and the 72–10 Chicago Bulls being the only teams with more. The Red Wings had two winning streaks of nine games and had a 13–game unbeaten streak from Sunday, March 3, 1996, to Sunday, March 31, going 12–0–1 during that stretch.

Having the best record in the league, the Red Wings were awarded the Presidents' Trophy. During the 1995–96 regular season, the Red Wings were the only team to score at least one goal in all 82 of its games.^[1] While the team is remembered for its record-breaking regular season, it ended in heartbreaking fashion in the playoffs. Detroit lost five games to Winnipeg and St. Louis, both teams that failed to get above 80 points in the regular season, including having to go to a decisive game 7 against St. Louis. They were ultimately upset by the Colorado Avalanche, winning only two of the six games in the series, and failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. They won 72 combined victories that season, tying the same 1976–77 Canadiens.

Off-season[]

In September 1995, the former 1974 draft pick and attorney Bill Evo was appointed president the Detroit Red Wings.^[2]

Regular season[]

• November 28, 1995: The Montreal Canadiens were playing the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The day before the game, Mario Tremblay spoke to Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal. Tremblay mentioned that he was resentful of current Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman. He had played under Bowman for the first five years of his NHL career, and Tremblay told Leclerc that Bowman always threatened to send him to the minors.^[3] When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman.^[4] The Canadiens lost the game by a score of 3–2. The next day, Le Journal de Montreal had a headline that stated, "Bowman has the last word."^[4]
• December 2, 1995: The Red Wings played at the Montreal Forum and dealt Tremblay's Montreal Canadiens their worst home game in franchise history, with an 11–1 win.^[5] The Habs' star goaltender Patrick Roy allowed nine goals on 26 shots (five in the first period, and then another four in the second period), and the crowd jeered him whenever he made an easy save during the second period after the game was already 7–1 in favor of the Red Wings. In response, Roy raised his arms in mock celebration. When Head Coach Mario Tremblay finally pulled Roy in the middle of the second period in favor of Pat Jablonski (who allowed two more goals), Roy stormed past him and told Canadiens President Ronald Corey, "It's my last game in Montreal."^[6] Tremblay was roundly criticized for the goaltender decision, as it violated an unwritten rule where a star goaltender was not taken out of the game on an off-night.^[7] Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche after that game, and he played a key role in eliminating the Red Wings during the Western Conference Finals, precipitating the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry.
• Against the Hartford Whalers on March 6, 1996, Chris Osgood became the third goaltender in NHL history to score a goal.^[8]
• On March 22, 1996, the Red Wings scored three short-handed goals in a 7–0 win over the Colorado Avalanche.^[9]

The Red Wings finished first in wins (62), points (131), tied the Washington Capitals for most shutouts (9), allowed the fewest goals (181), the fewest even-strength goals (128), the fewest power-play goals (44) and had the best penalty-kill percentage (88.27%).^[10]

Season standings[]

Central Division

No.		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Detroit Red Wings	82	62	13	7	325	181	131
2	Chicago Blackhawks	82	40	28	14	273	220	94
3	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	34	36	12	247	252	80
4	St. Louis Blues	82	32	34	16	219	248	80
5	Winnipeg Jets	82	36	40	6	275	291	78
6	Dallas Stars	82	26	42	14	227	280	66

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference^[11]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	62	13	7	325	181	131
2	Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	47	25	10	326	240	104
3	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	40	28	14	273	220	94
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	34	36	12	247	252	80
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	32	34	16	219	248	80
6	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	34	37	11	241	240	79
7	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	32	35	15	278	278	79
8	Winnipeg Jets	CEN	82	36	40	6	275	291	78
9	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	39	8	234	247	78
10	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	30	44	8	240	304	68
11	Dallas Stars	CEN	82	26	42	14	227	280	66
12	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	24	40	18	256	302	66
13	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	20	55	7	252	357	47

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Playoffs[]

In the first round of the playoffs, the Red Wings defeated the eighth-place Winnipeg Jets marking the Jets' final games in Winnipeg as the franchise relocated to Phoenix following their playoff defeat. The Wings then defeated the fifth-place St. Louis Blues in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, the Red Wings were ousted in six games by the Colorado Avalanche, who were in the first year after moving from Quebec. These two teams started the Red Wings-Avalanche rivalry, which lasted nearly a decade.

Schedule and results[]

Regular season[]

1995-96 game log: 62–13–7 (Home: 36–3–2; Road: 26–10–5)
October: 5-4-2 (Home: 2-1-1 ; Road: 3-3-1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 1 October 6 Detroit 2–3 Colorado Vernon 16,061 0–1–0 0 2 October 8 Detroit 3–1 Edmonton Osgood 13,302 1–1–0 2 3 October 9 Detroit 5–3 Vancouver Vernon 19,024 2–1–0 4 4 October 13 Edmonton 0–9 Detroit Osgood 19,875 3–1–0 6 5 October 15 Detroit 5–5 Winnipeg OT Vernon 9,399 3–1–1 7 6 October 17 Calgary 3–3 Detroit OT Osgood 19,638 3–1–2 8 7 October 19 Detroit 2–4 New Jersey Vernon 16,147 3–2–2 8 8 October 21 Boston 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,875 4–2–2 10 9 October 24 Ottawa 2–1 Detroit Vernon 19,512 4–3–2 10 10 October 27 Detroit 3–0 Calgary Osgood 19,001 5–3–2 12 11 October 30 Detroit 2–3 Winnipeg Osgood 7,905 5–4–2 12
November: 9-2-0 (Home: 5-0-0 ; Road: 4-2-0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 12 November 1 Detroit 1–2 Buffalo Osgood 12,653 5–5–2 12 13 November 2 Detroit 6–5 Boston OT Osgood 17,565 6–5–2 14 14 November 4 Dallas 1–5 Detroit Osgood 19,852 7–5–2 16 15 November 7 Edmonton 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,776 8–5–2 18 16 November 11 Detroit 5–2 San Jose Vernon 17,190 9–5–2 20 17 November 14 Detroit 6–5 Los Angeles Osgood 14,154 10–5–2 22 18 November 17 Detroit 5–4 Edmonton Vernon 10,803 11–5–2 24 19 November 22 San Jose 2–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 12–5–2 26 20 November 24 Detroit 1–4 Philadelphia Vernon 17,380 12–6–2 26 21 November 25 NY Rangers 0–2 Detroit Osgood 19,983 13–6–2 28 22 November 28 Montreal 2–3 Detroit Osgood 19,945 14–6–2 30
December: 13-1-0 (Home: 7-0-0 ; Road: 6-1-0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 23 December 1 Anaheim 2–5 Detroit Vernon 19,881 15–6–2 32 24 December 2 Detroit 11–1 Montreal Vernon 17,803 16–6–2 34 25 December 5 Philadelphia 3–5 Detroit Osgood 19,918 17–6–2 36 26 December 7 Dallas 1–3 Detroit Vernon 19,640 18–6–2 38 27 December 8 Detroit 1–2 NY Rangers OT Osgood 18,200 18–7–2 38 28 December 12 Detroit 5–2 St. Louis Vernon 17,965 19–7–2 40 29 December 13 Chicago 1–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 20–7–2 42 30 December 15 New Jersey 1–3 Detroit Vernon 19,983 21–7–2 44 31 December 20 Detroit 6–1 Anaheim Vernon 17,174 22–7–2 46 32 December 22 Detroit 5–1 Calgary Osgood 17,302 23–7–2 48 33 December 23 Detroit 1–0 Vancouver Vernon 18,422 24–7–2 50 34 December 26 St. Louis 2–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 25–7–2 52 35 December 29 Detroit 2–1 Dallas Osgood 16,924 26–7–2 54 36 December 31 Hartford 2–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 27–7–2 56
January: 8-2-2 (Home: 5-1-1 ; Road: 3-1-1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 37 January 3 Dallas 3–3 Detroit OT Osgood 19,944 27–7–3 57 38 January 5 Detroit 2–5 Pittsburgh Osgood 17,181 27–8–3 57 39 January 6 Chicago 0–3 Detroit Hodson 19,983 28–8–3 59 40 January 8 Winnipeg 6–4 Detroit Osgood 19,825 28–9–3 59 41 January 10 Detroit 4–0 Dallas Osgood 15,621 29–9–3 61 42 January 12 Los Angeles 2–3 Detroit Hodson 19,983 30–9–3 63 43 January 13 Detroit 4–2 Washington Osgood 18,130 31–9–3 65 44 January 17 Colorado 2–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 32–9–3 67 45 January 24 San Jose 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,946 33–9–3 69 46 January 25 Detroit 4–2 Ottawa Osgood 16,882 34–9–3 71 47 January 27 Detroit 5–5 Chicago OT Osgood 22,640 34–9–4 72 48 January 30 Toronto 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 35–9–4 74
February: 11-2-0 (Home: 8-0-0 ; Road: 3-2-0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 49 February 3 Pittsburgh 0–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 36–9–4 76 50 February 6 Florida 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 37–9–4 78 51 February 8 Detroit 1–3 Florida Vernon 14,703 37–10–4 78 52 February 10 Detroit 3–2 Tampa Bay OT Osgood 22,636 38–10–4 80 53 February 13 Los Angeles 4–9 Detroit Vernon 19,983 39–10–4 82 54 February 15 Washington 3–4 Detroit Osgood 19,952 40–10–4 84 55 February 16 Detroit 3–4 St. Louis Vernon 20,156 40–11–4 84 56 February 18 Detroit 3–2 Toronto Osgood 15,746 41–11–4 86 57 February 19 Vancouver 3–4 Detroit Vernon 19,983 42–11–4 88 58 February 22 Toronto 3–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 43–11–4 90 59 February 24 Tampa Bay 0–2 Detroit Vernon 19,983 44–11–4 92 60 February 27 Detroit 6–2 NY Islanders Osgood 11,762 45–11–4 94 61 February 29 NY Islanders 1–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 46–11–4 96
March: 12-1-1 (Home: 7-1-0 ; Road: 5-0-1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 62 March 2 Vancouver 3–2 Detroit Vernon 19,983 46–12–4 96 63 March 3 Detroit 6–2 Chicago Vernon 22,540 47–12–4 98 64 March 6 Detroit 4–2 Hartford Osgood 11,252 48–12–4 100 65 March 8 Detroit 4–2 Colorado Vernon 16,061 49–12–4 102 66 March 10 Detroit 5–2 Winnipeg Osgood 14,757 50–12–4 104 67 March 12 Winnipeg 2–5 Detroit Vernon 19,983 51–12–4 106 68 March 17 Calgary 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 52–12–4 108 69 March 19 Toronto 5–6 Detroit Vernon 19,983 53–12–4 110 70 March 20 Detroit 4–3 Toronto OT Osgood 15,746 54–12–4 112 71 March 22 Colorado 0–7 Detroit Vernon 19,983 55–12–4 114 72 March 24 Detroit 2–2 St. Louis OT Osgood 20,708 55–12–5 115 73 March 25 Anaheim 1–5 Detroit Vernon 19,983 56–12–5 117 74 March 27 Buffalo 2–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 57–12–5 119 75 March 31 St. Louis 1–8 Detroit Vernon 19,983 58–12–5 121
April: 4-1-2 (Home: 2-0-0 ; Road: 2-1-2) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts 76 April 2 Detroit 3–6 San Jose Osgood 17,190 58–13–5 121 77 April 3 Detroit 2–2 Los Angeles OT Vernon 14,663 58–13–6 122 78 April 5 Detroit 2–2 Anaheim OT Osgood 17,174 58–13–7 123 79 April 7 Detroit 4–1 Chicago Vernon 21,986 59–13–7 125 80 April 10 Winnipeg 2–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 60–13–7 127 81 April 12 Chicago 3–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 61–13–7 129 82 April 14 Detroit 5–1 Dallas Osgood 16,924 62–13–7 131 Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs[]

1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) Winnipeg Jets: Detroit won 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 April 17 Winnipeg 1–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 1–0 2 April 19 Winnipeg 0–4 Detroit Osgood 19,983 2–0 3 April 21 Detroit 1–4 Winnipeg Vernon 15,544 2–1 4 April 23 Detroit 6–1 Winnipeg Vernon 15,557 3–1 5 April 26 Winnipeg 3–1 Detroit Osgood 19,983 3–2 6 April 27 Detroit 4–1 Winnipeg Vernon 15,567 4–2
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (5) St. Louis Blues: Detroit won 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 May 3 St. Louis 2–3 Detroit Osgood 19,983 1–0 2 May 5 St. Louis 3–8 Detroit Osgood 19,983 2–0 3 May 8 Detroit 4–5 St. Louis OT Vernon 20,796 2–1 4 May 10 Detroit 0–1 St. Louis Osgood 20,796 2–2 5 May 12 St. Louis 3–2 Detroit Osgood 19,983 2–3 6 May 14 Detroit 4–2 St. Louis Osgood 20,796 3–3 7 May 16 St. Louis 0–1 Detroit 2OT Osgood 19,983 4–3
Western Conference Finals vs. (2) Colorado Avalanche: Colorado won 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series 1 May 19 Colorado 3–2 Detroit OT Osgood 19,957 0–1 2 May 21 Colorado 3–0 Detroit Osgood 19,983 0–2 3 May 23 Detroit 6–4 Colorado Osgood 16,061 1–2 4 May 25 Detroit 2–4 Colorado Osgood 16,061 1–3 5 May 27 Colorado 2–5 Detroit Osgood 19,983 2–3 6 May 29 Detroit 1–4 Colorado Osgood 16,061 2–4 Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics[]

Skaters[]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending[]

Note: GP = Games played; GS = Games started; TOI = Time on Ice; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots Against; SV% = Save Percentage;
SO = Shutouts; G = Goals; A = Assists; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Chris Osgood	50	47	2,932:59	39	6	5	106	2.17	1,190	.911	5	1	2	4
Mike Vernon	32	22	1,854:43	21	7	2	70	2.26	723	.903	3	0	0	2
Kevin Hodson	4	3	163:16	2	0	0	67	1.10	67	.955	1	0	0	0
Total			4,950:58	62	13	7	179	2.17	1,980	.910	9	1	2	6

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV%	SO	G	A	PIM
Chris Osgood	15	15	935:48	8	7	33	2.12	322	.898	2	0	0	4
Mike Vernon	4	4	243:23	2	2	11	2.71	81	.864	0	0	0	2
Total			1,179:11	10	9	44	2.24	403	.891	2	0	0	6

† Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Red Wings. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.
‡ Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Red Wings only.

Awards and records[]

• Most Wins in One Season
• Presidents' Trophy
• Frank J. Selke Trophy, Sergei Fedorov
• Jack Adams Award, Scotty Bowman
• NHL Plus/Minus Award, Vladimir Konstantinov
• William M. Jennings Trophy, Chris Osgood and Mike Vernon
• Chris Osgood, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star
• Vladimir Konstantinov, D, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions[]

Signings[]

Date	Player	Contract term
August 28, 1995 (1995-08-28)	Mike Ramsey	1-year
September 7, 1995 (1995-09-07)	Viacheslav Fetisov	1-year

Roster[]

1995-96 Detroit Red Wings
Goaltenders 29 – Mike Vernon  30 – Chris Osgood  31 – Kevin Hodson		Defensemen 2 – Viacheslav Fetisov  3 – Bob Rouse  4 – Jamie Pushor  5 – Nicklas Lidstrom  15 – Mike Ramsey  16 – Vladimir Konstantinov  27 – Marc Bergevin  34 – Anders Eriksson  77 – Paul Coffey  (A)		Wingers 11 – Mathieu Dandenault  13 – Vyacheslav Kozlov  17 – Doug Brown  18 – Kirk Maltby  20 – Martin Lapointe  21 – Bob Errey  22 – Dino Ciccarelli  25 – Darren McCarty  26 – Ray Sheppard  32 – Stu Grimson		Centers 8 – Igor Larionov  18 – Wes Walz  19 – Steve Yzerman  (C) 23 – Greg Johnson  33 – Kris Draper  37 – Tim Taylor  55 – Keith Primeau  91 – Sergei Fedorov  (A) General Manager Scotty Bowman Jim Devellano Head Coach Scotty Bowman Assistant Coaches Dave Lewis Barry Smith

^[13]

Draft picks[]

Detroit's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	26	Maxim Kuznetsov	D	Kazakhstan	Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
2	52	Philippe Audet	LW	Canada	Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
31	58	Darryl Laplante	C	Canada	Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
4	104		LW	Russia	Torpedo Yaroslavl (Russia)
52	125	Chad Wilchynski	D	Canada	Regina Pats (WHL)
53	126	Dave Arsenault	G	Canada	Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
6	156	Tyler Perry	C	Canada	Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
7	182	Per Eklund	RW	Sweden	Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
8	208	Andrei Samokhvalov	RW	Kazakhstan	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan)
9	234	David Engblom	C	Sweden	Vallentuna (Sweden)

Notes

1. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on May 25, 1994 that sent Sheldon Kennedy to Winnipeg in exchange for this pick.
2. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on January 17, 1994 that sent Vincent Riendeau to Boston in exchange for this pick.
3. The Red Wings acquired this pick as the result of a trade on September 9, 1993 that sent Stewart Malgunas to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.

• The Red Wings third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on April 3, 1995 that sent Viacheslav Fetisov to Detroit in exchange for this pick (78th overall).
• The Red Wings fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on February 27, 1995 that sent Bob Errey to Detroit in exchange for this pick (130th overall).

References[]

External links[]

• Red Wings on Hockey Database