1995–96 Florida Panthers season

1995–96 Florida Panthers
Eastern Conference Champions
Division	3rd Atlantic
Conference	4th Eastern
1995–96 record	41–31–10
Home record	25–12–4
Road record	16–19–6
Goals for	254
Goals against	234
Team information
General Manager	Bryan Murray
Coach	Doug MacLean
Captain	Brian Skrudland
Alternate captains	Scott Mellanby Gord Murphy
Arena	Miami Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Scott Mellanby (32)
Assists	Robert Svehla (49)
Points	Scott Mellanby (70)
Penalties in minutes	Paul Laus (236)
Plus/minus	Bill Lindsay (+13)
Wins	John Vanbiesbrouck (26)
Goals against average	John Vanbiesbrouck (2.68)
<1994–95 1996–97>

The 1995–96 Florida Panthers season was their most successful season ever. In only their third season in the National Hockey League, the Panthers qualified for the playoffs, and won three playoff series to become Eastern Conference champions. In the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in four games.

Offseason

NHL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	10	Radek Dvorak (RW)	Czech Republic	HC České Budějovice (Czech)

Regular season

Year of the Rat

A very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami. On the night of the Panthers' '95–'96 home opener, a rat scurried across the Florida locker room. Panthers winger Scott Mellanby reacted by "one-timing" the rat against the wall, killing it . That night he scored two goals, which goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck quipped was "a rat trick". Two nights later, as the story found its way into the world, a few fans threw rubber rats on the ice in celebration of a goal. The rubber rat count went from 16 for the third home game to over 2,000 during the playoffs. In an amusing coincidence, 1996 was also year of the Rat according to Chinese astrology.

In the 1996 playoffs, as the #4 seed, the Panthers beat the Boston Bruins in 5 games, then upset the top seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six, and then the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in seven to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Their opponents, the Colorado Avalanche, swept the Panthers in four games.

Final standings

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^[1]

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

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 7, 1995	0–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	0–1–0
2	W	October 8, 1995	4–3	Calgary Flames (1995–96)	1–1–0
3	W	October 11, 1995	6–1	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	2–1–0
4	W	October 13, 1995	6–2	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	3–1–0
5	W	October 15, 1995	5–3	New York Islanders (1995–96)	4–1–0
6	L	October 17, 1995	3–6	Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	4–2–0
7	W	October 21, 1995	3–0	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	5–2–0
8	W	October 24, 1995	6–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	6–2–0
9	L	October 25, 1995	2–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	6–3–0
10	W	October 28, 1995	4–1	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	7–3–0
11	L	October 31, 1995	4–5 OT	New York Islanders (1995–96)	7–4–0
12	W	November 2, 1995	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	8–4–0
13	W	November 3, 1995	3–2	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	9–4–0
14	W	November 5, 1995	4–1	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	10–4–0
15	W	November 7, 1995	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	11–4–0
16	W	November 9, 1995	2–1	Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	12–4–0
17	W	November 11, 1995	4–1	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	13–4–0
18	W	November 14, 1995	5–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1995–96)	14–4–0
19	T	November 16, 1995	2–2 OT	Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	14–4–1
20	L	November 18, 1995	2–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	14–5–1
21	W	November 19, 1995	4–3	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	15–5–1
22	W	November 21, 1995	4–3	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	16–5–1
23	W	November 26, 1995	5–1	Los Angeles Kings (1995–96)	17–5–1
24	L	November 29, 1995	1–2 OT	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	17–6–1
25	L	December 1, 1995	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	17–7–1
26	W	December 2, 1995	5–3	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	18–7–1
27	W	December 5, 1995	4–3	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	19–7–1
28	T	December 7, 1995	3–3 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1995–96)	19–7–2
29	W	December 9, 1995	3–1	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	20–7–2
30	W	December 11, 1995	2–1	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	21–7–2
31	W	December 12, 1995	3–1	@ New York Islanders (1995–96)	22–7–2
32	L	December 14, 1995	4–6	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	22–8–2
33	W	December 16, 1995	7–2	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	23–8–2
34	W	December 21, 1995	6–1	Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	24–8–2
35	W	December 23, 1995	2–1	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	25–8–2
36	L	December 28, 1995	4–5	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	25–9–2
37	L	December 30, 1995	5–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	25–10–2
38	L	January 3, 1996	2–7	@ Vancouver Canucks (1995–96)	25–11–2
39	W	January 5, 1996	3–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1995–96)	26–11–2
40	L	January 6, 1996	0–2	@ Calgary Flames (1995–96)	26–12–2
41	W	January 8, 1996	5–2	@ San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	27–12–2
42	T	January 10, 1996	4–4 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	27–12–3
43	T	January 12, 1996	6–6 OT	@ Dallas Stars (1995–96)	27–12–4
44	W	January 16, 1996	4–1	San Jose Sharks (1995–96)	28–12–4
45	T	January 22, 1996	1–1 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	28–12–5
46	W	January 23, 1996	5–4	@ Washington Capitals (1995–96)	29–12–5
47	L	January 25, 1996	2–6	Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	29–13–5
48	W	January 27, 1996	6–3	Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	30–13–5
49	W	January 29, 1996	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	31–13–5
50	L	January 31, 1996	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	31–14–5
51	T	February 1, 1996	2–2 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1995–96)	31–14–6
52	W	February 3, 1996	5–3	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	32–14–6
53	L	February 6, 1996	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	32–15–6
54	W	February 8, 1996	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1995–96)	33–15–6
55	T	February 11, 1996	2–2 OT	St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	33–15–7
56	L	February 14, 1996	2–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1995–96)	33–16–7
57	L	February 16, 1996	4–5 OT	Colorado Avalanche (1995–96)	33–17–7
58	W	February 18, 1996	6–4	Dallas Stars (1995–96)	34–17–7
59	W	February 21, 1996	4–1	@ New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	35–17–7
60	L	February 24, 1996	0–4	New York Rangers (1995–96)	35–18–7
61	L	February 25, 1996	1–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1995–96)	35–19–7
62	T	February 29, 1996	2–2 OT	Washington Capitals (1995–96)	35–19–8
63	L	March 2, 1996	1–7	@ Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	35–20–8
64	L	March 5, 1996	0–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1995–96)	35–21–8
65	L	March 7, 1996	3–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1995–96)	35–22–8
66	L	March 10, 1996	1–4	Boston Bruins (1995–96)	35–23–8
67	L	March 11, 1996	4–8	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1995–96)	35–24–8
68	T	March 13, 1996	3–3 OT	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	35–24–9
69	W	March 17, 1996	3–0	New Jersey Devils (1995–96)	36–24–9
70	W	March 19, 1996	5–2	Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	37–24–9
71	W	March 21, 1996	3–2	New York Islanders (1995–96)	38–24–9
72	L	March 23, 1996	2–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	38–25–9
73	L	March 27, 1996	0–3	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	38–26–9
74	L	March 28, 1996	2–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96)	38–27–9
75	L	March 30, 1996	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	38–28–9
76	W	April 1, 1996	3–2	Hartford Whalers (1995–96)	39–28–9
77	L	April 3, 1996	2–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1995–96)	39–29–9
78	L	April 6, 1996	1–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1995–96)	39–30–9
79	W	April 8, 1996	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1995–96)	40–30–9
80	L	April 10, 1996	1–2	Tampa Bay Lightning (1995–96)	40–31–9
81	T	April 12, 1996	1–1 OT	@ New York Islanders (1995–96)	40–31–10
82	W	April 14, 1996	5–1	New York Rangers (1995–96)	41–31–10

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby RW 79 32 38 70 160 4 19 0 3 Niedermayer, RobRob Niedermayer C 82 26 35 61 107 1 11 0 6 Svehla, RobertRobert Svehla D 81 8 49 57 94 -3 7 0 0 Garpenlov, JohanJohan Garpenlov LW 82 23 28 51 36 -10 8 0 7 Barnes, StuStu Barnes C 72 19 25 44 46 -12 8 0 5 Belanger, JesseJesse Belanger C 63 17 21 38 10 -5 7 0 1 Hull, JodyJody Hull RW 78 20 17 37 25 5 2 0 3 Fitzgerald, TomTom Fitzgerald RW 82 13 21 34 75 -3 1 6 2 Lindsay, BillBill Lindsay RW 73 12 22 34 57 13 0 3 2 Woolley, JasonJason Woolley D 52 6 28 34 32 -9 3 0 0 Murphy, GordGord Murphy D 70 8 22 30 30 5 4 0 0 Dvorak, RadekRadek Dvorak RW 77 13 14 27 20 5 0 0 4 Skrudland, BrianBrian Skrudland C 79 7 20 27 129 6 0 1 1 Lowry, DaveDave Lowry LW 63 10 14 24 36 -2 0 0 1 Hough, MikeMike Hough LW 64 7 16 23 37 4 0 1 1 Jovanovski, EdEd Jovanovski D 70 10 11 21 137 -3 2 0 2 Carkner, TerryTerry Carkner D 73 3 10 13 80 10 1 0 0 Svensson, MagnusMagnus Svensson D 27 2 9 11 21 -1 2 0 1 Sheppard, RayRay Sheppard RW 14 8 2 10 4 0 2 0 2 Smith, GeoffGeoff Smith D 31 3 7 10 20 -4 2 0 0 Laus, PaulPaul Laus D 78 3 6 9 236 -2 0 0 0 Straka, MartinMartin Straka C 12 2 4 6 6 1 1 0 0 Dionne, GilbertGilbert Dionne LW 5 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 Harkins, BrettBrett Harkins LW 8 0 3 3 6 -2 0 0 0 Warrener, RhettRhett Warrener D 28 0 3 3 46 4 0 0 0 Smyth, BradBrad Smyth RW 7 1 1 2 4 -3 1 0 0 Nemirovsky, DavidDavid Nemirovsky RW 9 0 2 2 2 -1 0 0 0 Vanbiesbrouck, JohnJohn Vanbiesbrouck G 57 0 2 2 10 0 0 0 0 Kudelski, BobBob Kudelski RW 13 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Washburn, SteveSteve Washburn C 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 Casselman, MikeMike Casselman C 3 0 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 Fitzpatrick, MarkMark Fitzpatrick G 34 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Vanbiesbrouck, JohnJohn Vanbiesbrouck 3178 57 26 20 7 142 2.68 2 1473 1331 .904 Fitzpatrick, MarkMark Fitzpatrick 1786 34 15 11 3 88 2.96 0 810 722 .891 Team: 4964 82 41 31 10 230 2.78 2 2283 2053 .899

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG Lowry, DaveDave Lowry LW 22 10 7 17 39 8 4 0 2 Sheppard, RayRay Sheppard RW 21 8 8 16 4 4 3 0 0 Barnes, StuStu Barnes C 22 6 10 16 4 10 2 0 2 Lindsay, BillBill Lindsay RW 22 5 5 10 18 6 0 1 1 Mellanby, ScottScott Mellanby RW 22 3 6 9 44 -10 2 0 0 Jovanovski, EdEd Jovanovski D 22 1 8 9 52 2 0 0 0 Niedermayer, RobRob Niedermayer C 22 5 3 8 12 -8 2 0 2 Fitzgerald, TomTom Fitzgerald RW 22 4 4 8 34 3 0 0 2 Laus, PaulPaul Laus D 21 2 6 8 62 3 0 0 0 Woolley, JasonJason Woolley D 13 2 6 8 14 3 1 0 1 Garpenlov, JohanJohan Garpenlov LW 20 4 2 6 8 -2 0 0 0 Svehla, RobertRobert Svehla D 22 0 6 6 32 3 0 0 0 Hough, MikeMike Hough LW 22 4 1 5 8 5 0 0 2 Hull, JodyJody Hull RW 14 3 2 5 0 4 0 0 0 Straka, MartinMartin Straka C 13 2 2 4 2 -2 0 0 0 Dvorak, RadekRadek Dvorak RW 16 1 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 Skrudland, BrianBrian Skrudland C 21 1 3 4 18 6 0 0 0 Carkner, TerryTerry Carkner D 22 0 4 4 10 8 0 0 0 Murphy, GordGord Murphy D 14 0 4 4 6 1 0 0 0 Vanbiesbrouck, JohnJohn Vanbiesbrouck G 22 0 1 1 20 0 0 0 0 Warrener, RhettRhett Warrener D 21 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 Washburn, SteveSteve Washburn C 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Fitzpatrick, MarkMark Fitzpatrick G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Smith, GeoffGeoff Smith D 1 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV% Vanbiesbrouck, JohnJohn Vanbiesbrouck 1332 22 12 10 50 2.25 1 735 685 .932 Fitzpatrick, MarkMark Fitzpatrick 60 2 0 0 6 6.00 0 30 24 .800 Team: 1392 22 12 10 56 2.41 1 765 709 .927

^[2]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Trades

The Panthers acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks on the trade deadline in 1996.

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

The fifth-seeded Boston Bruins had one of the best offenses in the Eastern Conference, scoring 282 goals lead by Cam Neely (26 goals) and Adam Oates (25 goals, 67 assists). The Panthers won their first-ever playoff game 6-3 before a sold out Miami Arena,^[3] and soon built a 3-0 lead despite being outshot by the Bruins on all games.^[4] The Bruins stepped up to win Game 4 with a 6-2 blowout before the Boston crows.^[5] Game 5 was tied 3-3 when with 4:57 left, Bill Lindsay scored with a dive through the air goal while being tripped by star defenseman Ray Bourque, giving the Panthers their first-ever playoff series victory.^[6] This was the last year in a record 29 consecutive seasons in the playoffs for the Bruins, as they missed the 1997 post-season.^[7]

Eastern Conference Quarter-final vs. Boston (5)
Game	Date	Venue	Score	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series
1	April 17	Miami Arena	Florida 6 – 3 Boston		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 1–0
2	April 22	Miami Arena	Florida 6 – 2 Boston		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 2–0
3	April 24	Fleet Center	Florida 4 – 2 Boston		14,922	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 3-0
4	April 25	Fleet Center	Boston 6 – 2 Florida		14,810	Ranford	Panthers lead 3–1
5	April 27	Miami Arena	Florida 4 – 3 Boston		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers win 4-1

Eastern Conference Semifinals

The Philadelphia Flyers finished atop the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 103 points, led by the high-scoring "Legion of Doom" and the strong goaltending of Garth Snow and Ron Hextall. Philadelphia had just eliminated the other Florida team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in 5 games a 2-1 series deficit.^[8]

Vanbiesbrouck posted a 2–0 shutout in Game 1,^[9] and it took until midway through Game 2 for the Flyers to get rolling offensively in a narrow 3–2 win.^[10] Game 3 saw Flyers veterans Dan Quinn, Dale Hawerchuk, Eric Desjardins and Hextall set the tone in a 3–1 victory.^[11] With young defenseman Ed Jovanovski tightly covering Flyers superstar Eric Lindros, the Panthers reversed the tide,^[12] defeating the Flyers in overtime in Game 4 and double-overtime in Game 5, in what would turn out to be the last Flyers game at the Spectrum.^[13] Lindros promised to win game 6 to return the series to Philadelphia, but the Panthers won with a 4-1 score. Florida became the third team to reach the conference finals in their third season - following fellow expansion team New York Islanders in 1975 and the Quebec Nordiques in 1982.^[14]

Eastern Conference Semifinal vs. Philadelphia (1)
Game	Date	Venue	Score	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series
1	May 2	CoreStates Spectrum	Florida 2 – 0 Philadelphia		17,380	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 1–0
2	May 4	CoreStates Spectrum	Philadelphia 2 – 0 Florida		17,380	Hextall	Tied 1–1
3	May 7	Miami Arena	Philadelphia 3 – 2 Florida		14,703	Hextall	Flyers lead 2-1
4	May 9	Miami Arena	Florida 4 – 3 Philadelphia	OT	14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Tied 2–2
5	May 12	CoreStates Spectrum	Florida 2 – 1 Philadelphia	2OT	17,380	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 3–2
6	May 14	Miami Arena	Florida 4 – 1 Philadelphia		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers win 4-2

Eastern Conference Finals

The 2-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins were energized by the return of Mario Lemieux, who missed the entire 1994–95 season due to injury, and had the league's best offense, scoring 362 goals, and the most wins in the Eastern conference with 49, finishing just one point behind the Flyers. The Penguins advanced to the third round for the first time since 1992, defeating the Washington Capitals in six games and the New York Rangers in five games.

Despite being outshot 33–25 in game one the Panthers came out on top with an impressive 5–1 win, with 32 saves by Vanbiesbrouck and two goals by forward Tom Fitzgerald. 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 - two goals by Stu Barnes - to take a 2–1 series lead. The Penguins tied game four on Brad Lauer's goal with 11:03 remaining in regulation, and Bryan Smolinski scored with 3:31 to go to give the Penguins a 2–1 lead, tying the series. In game five the Penguins shut out the Panthers 3–0, with Barrasso stopping 28 shots.

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 got 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 Nedvěd'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, with a total of 39 saves by Vanbiesbrouck, and closed the series four games to three.^[15]

By reaching the finals in only their third season, the Panthers became the fastest expansion team to do so.^[16] Many Panthers players were managing their first first trips to the finals after long careers, such as Vanbiesbrouck (13 years) and Scott Mellanby (9 years).

Eastern Conference Final vs. Pittsburgh (2)
Game	Date	Venue	Score	OT	Attendance	Decision	Series
1	May 18	Civic Arena	Florida 5 – 1 Pittsburgh		17,355	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 1–0
2	May 20	Civic Arena	Pittsburgh 3 – 2 Florida		17,181	Barrasso	Tied 1–1
3	May 24	Miami Arena	Florida 5 – 2 Pittsburgh		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers lead 2-1
4	May 26	Miami Arena	Pittsburgh 2 – 1 Florida		14,703	Barrasso	Tied 2–2
5	May 28	Civic Arena	Pittsburgh 3 – 0 Florida		17,355	Barrasso	Penguins lead 3-2
6	May 30	Miami Arena	Florida 4 – 3 Pittsburgh		14,703	Vanbiesbrouck	Tied 3-3
7	June 1	Civic Arena	Florida 3 – 1 Pittsburgh		17,355	Vanbiesbrouck	Panthers win 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals

In the first Stanley Cup Finals where neither team had ever reached the decision before, the Panthers faced the Colorado Avalanche, who were in their inaugural season after relocating from Quebec City. Led by captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg and defenceman Adam Foote, the Avalanche got even stronger once goaltender Patrick Roy joined the team on December 1995. The Avalanche finished the season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division and finished second in the Western Conference. On their way to the Western title, the Avs beat the Vancouver Canucks, the Chicago Blackhawks and Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings, all in six games.^[17]

The series started in Denver, and the Avs dominated the Panthers at the McNichols Sports Arena. On game 1, Vanbiesbrouck shut out Colorado for half the game, before three goals were scored in a stretch of 3:49 minutes in the second period, leading to a 3-1 victory. The following game was an 8–1 blowout, starting with three power play goals in the first period as Florida incurred in bad penalties that forced Vanbiesbrouck to be pulled out in favor of Mark Fitzpatrick. Returning to Miami, Game 3 was closer, with Florida scoring twice in the first period. But the Avs still came through, taking over the lead with a Joe Sakic goal early in the second period and holding on to a 3–2 victory.^[18]

With their backs to the wall, the Panthers played a defensive game four. Vanbiesbrouck and Roy stood out, combining for 118 saves, and the two teams played a marathon game that took until the third overtime period. Uwe Krupp's unassisted goal at 4:31 ended 44 minutes and 31 seconds of overtime and gave the Avalanche a 1–0 win and a four-games-to-none series win. Goaltender Patrick Roy stopped all 63 shots he faced. Colorado outscored Florida 15–4 in the series, and Patrick Roy stopped 147 of 151 shots, for a save percentage of .974. Joe Sakic was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, having led all skaters in goals with 18, and points with 34. For both Patrick Roy and Claude Lemieux, it was their third Stanley Cup win in eleven years.

Colorado vs. Florida
Date	Away	Home
June 4	Florida 1	3 Colorado
June 6	Florida 1	8 Colorado
June 8	Colorado 3	2 Florida
June 10	Colorado 1	0 Florida	3OT
Colorado wins series 4–0 and Stanley Cup
Joe Sakic (Colorado) wins Conn Smythe Trophy

Awards and records

• Prince of Wales Trophy
• Ed Jovanovski, defense, NHL All-Rookie Team
• Bryan Murray, NHL Executive of the Year

References

• Panthers on Hockey Database
• Complete Reference of all things Panther

1. "1995–1996 Conference Standings". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
2. "1995-96 Florida Panthers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
3. History: 1996 Playoffs
4. 1996 N.H.L. PLAYOFFS;Panthers Put Bruins TO Wall
5. Bruins 6, Panthers 2
6. N.H.L. PLAYOFFS;Panthers Eliminate Bruins
7. From Bruins to Ruins
8. Flyers Will Face Panthers Next, And Expect A Battle The Best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinal Series Will Begin Thursday At The Spectrum
12. Looking back at the Florida Panthers’ 1996 playoff run
13. Remembering the Spectrum: Flyers say goodbye after 29 years
14. NHL PLAYOFFS;Surprising Panthers Eliminate the Flyers
15. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article65704547.html
16. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/florida-panthers/fl-florida-panthers-0312-20160311-story.html
17. WITH BRILLIANT TRADES AND BLENDED TALENT, THE AVALANCHE CAPTURED THE STANLEY CUP, GIVING COLORADO ITS FIRST MAJOR PRO CHAMPIONSHIP
18. SHOW STOPPERS COLORADO, A DYNASTY IN THE MAKING, SWEPT FLORIDA TO WIN THE STANLEY CUP