1995 Stanley Cup Final
1 2 3 4 Total New Jersey Devils 2 4 5 5 4 Detroit Red Wings 1 2 2 2 0
Location(s)	East Rutherford:Brendan Byrne Arena (3, 4) Detroit:Joe Louis Arena (1, 2)
Coaches	New Jersey:Jacques Lemaire Detroit:Scotty Bowman
Captains	New Jersey:Scott Stevens Detroit:Steve Yzerman
National anthems	New Jersey: Unknown Detroit:Karen Newman
Referees	Bill McCreary (1, 4) Terry Gregson (2) Kerry Fraser (3)
Dates	June 17–24, 1995
MVP	Claude Lemieux (Devils)
Series-winning goal	Neal Broten(7:56, second, G4)
Hall of Famers	Devils: Martin Brodeur (2018) Scott Niedermayer (2013) Scott Stevens (2007) Red Wings: Dino Ciccarelli (2010) Paul Coffey (2004) Sergei Fedorov (2015) Viacheslav Fetisov (2001) Mark Howe (2011) Nicklas Lidstrom (2015) Mike Vernon (2023) Steve Yzerman (2009) Coaches: Scotty Bowman (1991) Jacques Lemaire (1984, player) Officials: Bill McCreary (2014)
Networks	Canada: (English):CBC (French):SRC United States: (English):Fox (1, 4),ESPN (2–3)
Announcers	(CBC)Bob Cole andHarry Neale (SRC)Claude Quenneville andGilles Tremblay (Fox)Mike Emrick andJohn Davidson (ESPN)Gary Thorne andBill Clement
← 1994 Stanley Cup Final 1996 →

The1995 Stanley Cup Final was thechampionship series of theNational Hockey League's (NHL)1994–95 season, and the culmination of the1995 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by theEastern Conference championNew Jersey Devils and theWestern Conference championDetroit Red Wings. It was the Devils franchise's first appearance in the Final, while the Red Wings returned to the Final for the first time since1966. The Devils upset the heavily-favored Red Wings in a sweep to win their firstStanley Cup championship in franchise history in their 21st season. The Devils became the sixth team to earn a championship after joining the league in1967 or later. This was the first of nine consecutive Final series to feature only American-based franchises. This also marked the first of four consecutive sweeps in the Final series.

This was also the first time in both the NHL and NBA history where both finals involved the first-seeded team being swept. In addition, the Devils became the first team in NHL history to win the title without having home ice advantage in any of the four playoff rounds since the playoffs was expanded to a 16-team format in 1980.^[1] Coincidentally, this feat would also be achieved in theNBA by theHouston Rockets that same year, when they won theNBA championship over theOrlando Magic.

Despite the fact that the regular season was cut short by the owners'lockout, both the season and the Final were saved at the eleventh hour – this was the latest date that the Stanley Cup was awarded. This record was later matched in2013 and then broken by theCOVID-19 pandemic affected2019–20 NHL season. The fifth seeded Devils held the record as the lowest seeded team to win the Stanley Cup until theLos Angeles Kings broke the record in2012. Their regular season winning percentage was also the lowest for a Cup winner since the1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs.

This was the first Cup Final since1980 to be played entirely within one time zone.

The Devils entered the playoffs as the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. In the first round, they defeated the fourth-seededBoston Bruins in five games. In the second round, they defeated the third-seededPittsburgh Penguins, also in five games. In the East Final, the Devils upset theirrival in the top-seededPhiladelphia Flyers in six games to reach their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.

The Red Wings were thePresidents' Trophy winner and therefore was the overall #1 seed in the playoffs. In the first round, the Red Wings handled the eighth-seededDallas Stars in five games. In the second round, the Red Wings got revenge on the seventh-seededSan Jose Sharks in a sweep after being upset by them in the first round oflast year's playoffs, to return to the Western Conference Final for the first time since1988. In the West Final, the Red Wings faced their fellowrival in theChicago Blackhawks and defeated them in five games to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since1966.

The series opened on Saturday, June 17 at the Joe Louis Arena inDetroit. Few gave New Jersey much of a chance against the NHL's best team. Going into the game, Detroit was a perfect 8–0 at home in the playoffs, and had outscored their opponents 30–11 in their eight home games. In the first three rounds alone the Red Wings had scored 18 power-play goals. Detroit fans, first greeting their opponents with a chorus of boos, then chanted after every Devils name was read during introductions, "Who cares?"

After a scoreless first period, the underdog Devils got on the board first, whenStephane Richer blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle that just squeezed through Detroit goaltenderMike Vernon. The power-play goal came at 9:41 of the second period and gave New Jersey a 1–0 lead. The Red Wings responded less than four minutes later and tied the game on a power-play goal byDino Ciccarelli at 13:08. The Devils would regain the lead on a goal byClaude Lemieux, a slapper from the slot at 3:17 of the third period. New Jersey would go on to win the game 2–1 and take a one-game-to-none series lead. They played a solid defensive game, frustrating the Red Wings and holding them to just 17 shots. The win was their ninth road win of the playoffs.

In game two, Detroit played with a sense of urgency.Vyacheslav Kozlov scored on the power play at 7:17 of the second period to make the score 1–0 in favor of the Red Wings. Devils forwardJohn MacLean would tie the game at 1–1 less than two and a half minutes later with a goal at 9:40. Then, on a Detroit breakaway, New Jersey defenceman andcaptainScott Stevens laid a thundering body check on Kozlov as he made a move to the inside past the New Jersey blue line. Although the Red Wings regained the lead onSergei Fedorov's goal at 1:36 of the third period, the Stevens hit seemed to inspire the Devils. With the midway point of the third period approaching, New Jersey defencemanScott Niedermayer picked up the puck in his own zone and skated up the ice. Once over the Detroit blue line, he got a step on Detroit defencemanPaul Coffey and fired a shot towards the Detroit net. Although the puck missed the net, it bounced off the end boards and came right back to Niedermayer, who shot it past Mike Vernon to tie the game at 2–2. The game remained tied until late in the third period. Devils defencemanShawn Chambers fired a shot from the point and the rebound came right toJim Dowd who backhanded the puck into the net to give the Devils a 3–2 lead. Stéphane Richer would add an empty-net goal as New Jersey won, 4–2.

Game three, the first NHL game ever played after the officialsummer solstice, shifted the series back to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During game one, the Detroit crowd taunted the Devils by collectively jeering "Who cares?" after each player was introduced. The Devils fans countered by raining boos down on the visiting Red Wings and delivering chants of "Red Wings suck." The Devils did their talking on the ice, dominating the Red Wings, scoring five consecutive goals.Bruce Driver, Claude Lemieux,Neal Broten,Randy McKay andBobby Holik all scored to give the Devils a 5–0 lead with 11:46 remaining in the game. Detroit scored twice on power-play goals by Sergei Fedorov andSteve Yzerman at 16:57 and 18:27 of the third period, but it was insufficient to keep New Jersey from winning a 5–2 game. They now had a commanding three-games-to-none lead in the series.

The Devils jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Neal Broten's goal just 68 seconds into the game. However, the Red Wings were fighting to stay alive and tied the game on Sergei Fedorov's goal just 55 seconds later. Coffey scored a shorthanded goal at 13:01 to give Detroit a 2–1 lead. New Jersey responded less than five minutes later, at 17:45 on a slap-shot goal by Shawn Chambers that beat Mike Vernon glove-side. Then, in the second period, Scott Niedermayer passed to Broten, who chipped the puck over Vernon's glove from just in front of the net. The goal, Broten's second of the game, gave the Devils a 3–2 lead. New Jersey would increase its lead with goals bySergei Brylin and Chambers (his second of the game) at 7:46 and 12:32 of the third period. The Devils won the game 5–2 and the series four games to none. It was New Jersey's firstStanley Cup championship in team history. DevilsgoaltenderMartin Brodeur allowed just seven goals against the Red Wings in the series and Devils forward Claude Lemieux was awarded theConn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, having led all skaters in playoff goals with 13. He would win the Stanley Cup again the very next season with the Colorado Avalanche.

This was the first year that coverage of the Cup Final in the United States was split betweenFox andESPN. Fox broadcast games one and four withMike Emrick andJohn Davidson, while ESPN broadcast games two and three withGary Thorne andBill Clement. This was also the first Cup Final in which the U.S. national networks had exclusive rights, and no longer could any of the regional rights holders of the participating U.S. teams produce local telecasts of their respective games. However, because the Devils swept the Red Wings and game four of the series was on Fox, their television play-by-play announcer, Emrick, called the win, as he also was part of Fox's lead broadcast team. That game, the first Stanley Cup-clinching game to air on network television in the United States since game six in1980, drew a 4.7 rating and a 10 share.^[2] In the New York City area, the game drew a 10.6 rating and 21 share and in Detroit, 14.1 and 26.^[2]

In Canada,Bob Cole andHarry Neale were in the broadcast booth forCBC.

On the radio side, the series was broadcast continentally onNHL Radio withKenny Albert andGary Green announcing. Devils team broadcasters Mike Miller andSherry Ross called the series on local radio onWABC–AM 770 in New York City and Red Wings team broadcastersBruce Martyn andPaul Woods called the series on local radio onWJR–AM 760 inDetroit.

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
17		Doug Brown	RW	R	1994–95	Southborough, Massachusetts	first
11		Shawn Burr	LW	L	1984	Sarnia, Ontario	first
22		Dino Ciccarelli	RW	R	1992–93	Sarnia, Ontario	second(1981)
77		Paul Coffey –A	D	L	1992–93	Weston, Ontario	sixth(1983,1984,1985,1987,1991)
33		Kris Draper	C	L	1993–94	Toronto, Ontario	first
21		Bob Errey	LW	L	1994–95	Montreal, Quebec	third(1991,1992)
91		Sergei Fedorov –A	C	L	1989	Pskov, Soviet Union	first
44		Viacheslav Fetisov	D	L	1994–95	Moscow, Soviet Union	first
4		Mark Howe	D	L	1992–93	Detroit, Michigan	third(1985,1987)
23		Greg Johnson	C	L	1993–94	Thunder Bay, Ontario	first(did not play)
16		Vladimir Konstantinov	D	R	1989	Murmansk, Soviet Union	first
13		Vyacheslav Kozlov	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	first
18		Mike Krushelnyski	LW	L	1994–95	Montreal, Quebec	fourth(1985,1987,1988)
20		Martin Lapointe	RW	R	1991	Ville St. Pierre, Quebec	first
5		Nicklas Lidstrom	D	L	1989	Krylbo, Sweden	first
25		Darren McCarty	RW	R	1992	Burnaby, British Columbia	first
30		Chris Osgood	G	L	1991	Peace River, Alberta	first
55		Keith Primeau	C	L	1990	Toronto, Ontario	first
15		Mike Ramsey	D	L	1994–95	Minneapolis, Minnesota	first
3		Bob Rouse	D	R	1994–95	Surrey, British Columbia	first
26		Ray Sheppard	RW	R	1991–92	Pembroke, Ontario	first
37		Tim Taylor	C	L	1993–94	Stratford, Ontario	first
29		Mike Vernon	G	L	1994–95	Calgary, Alberta	third(1986,1989)
19		Steve Yzerman –C	C	R	1983	Cranbrook, British Columbia	first

#	Nat	Player	Position	Hand	Acquired	Place of birth	Finals appearance
6		Tommy Albelin	D	L	1988–89	Stockholm, Sweden	first
30		Martin Brodeur	G	L	1990	Montreal, Quebec	first
9		Neal Broten	C	L	1994–95	Roseau, Minnesota	third(1981,1991)
18		Sergei Brylin	LW/C	L	1992	Moscow, Soviet Union	first
19		Bobby Carpenter	C	L	1993–94	Beverly, Massachusetts	first
29		Shawn Chambers	D	L	1994–95	Royal Oak, Michigan	second(1991)
17		Tom Chorske	LW	R	1991–92	Minneapolis, Minnesota	first
20		Danton Cole	RW	R	1994–95	Pontiac, Michigan	first(did not play)
3		Ken Daneyko	D	L	1982	Windsor, Ontario	first
28		Kevin Dean	D	L	1987	Madison, Wisconsin	first(did not play)
11		Jim Dowd	C	R	1987	Brick, New Jersey	first
23		Bruce Driver –A	D	L	1981	Etobicoke, Ontario	first
12		Bill Guerin	RW	R	1989	Worcester, Massachusetts	first
16		Bobby Holik	C	R	1992–93	Jihlava, Czechoslovakia	first
22		Claude Lemieux	RW	R	1990–91	Buckingham, Quebec	third(1986,1989)
15		John MacLean –A	RW	R	1983	Oshawa, Ontario	first
7		Chris McAlpine	D	R	1990	Roseville, Minnesota	first(did not play)
21		Randy McKay	RW	R	1991–92	Montreal, Quebec	first
27		Scott Niedermayer	D	L	1991	Edmonton, Alberta	first
8		Mike Peluso	LW	L	1993–94	Pengilly, Minnesota	second(1992)
44		Stephane Richer	RW	R	1991–92	Ripon, Quebec	third(1986,1989)
14		Brian Rolston	C	L	1991	Flint, Michigan	first
4		Scott Stevens –C	D	L	1991–92	Kitchener, Ontario	first
31		Chris Terreri	G	L	1983	Providence, Rhode Island	first
25		Valeri Zelepukin	LW	L	1990	Voskresensk, Soviet Union	first

The 1995 Stanley Cup was presented to Devils captain Scott Stevens byNHL CommissionerGary Bettman following the Devils 5–2 win over the Red Wings in game four

The following Devils players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1994–95 New Jersey Devils

• * Played both centre and wing.
  
• † Did not play or dress in the Final.^[A]
  
• ‡ Exemption granted to engrave the name of a player who did not automatically qualify.^[B]

• ^{^[A]} #7Chris McAlpine (D) played in 24 regular season games and none in the playoffs. Due to the1994-95 NHL lockout, he played in half of the regular season games, automatically qualifying to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
• ^{^[B]} #28Kevin Dean (D) played in 17 regular season games and 3 playoff games. #20Danton Cole (RW) played in 12 regular season games and 1 playoff game. As they did not automatically qualify (24 regular season games or 1 Final game for the shortened season), New Jersey successfully requested an exemption to engrave their names.
• 8 members were engraved with an install and two full names. Stephane Richer was engraved as Stephane J. J. Richer, because there was another Stephane J. G. Richer, who was playing in the NHL. Stephane J. G. Richer played 27 NHL games over four years from 1992–93 to 1994–95.
• Starting in 1994-95 every team that has won the Stanley Cup has left off non-playing positions except for 1 year (see2007 Stanley Cup Final)

• 1994–95 NHL season
• 1994–95 Detroit Red Wings season
• 1994–95 New Jersey Devils season
• 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs
• List of Stanley Cup champions

• Diamond, Dan (2000).Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004).Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books.ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.

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• 1994–95 NHL season
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• 20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey
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