This Day in Hockey History – June 13, 1995 – Devils May Care

Jun 13, 2019

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For nearly four months, it looked as though the NHL would not play a 1994-95 season. When the lockout ended in January, the New Jersey Devils got to work implementing their “neutral zone trap” strategy. They had come within one goal (scored in double-overtime) of making it to the Stanley Cup Final the season before and refused to let that happen again. On June 13, 1995, they won the Prince of Wales Trophy and their first ticket to the Cup Final.

The franchise that settled in New Jersey started over 1,000 miles west, in Kansas City, Missouri. The area had been a “hotbed for minor league hockey action,” so in 1974, the NHL chose to expand there to counter the growing competition of the WHA. Unfortunately, Kansas City started off without a suitable place to play and then could barely fill their arena halfway as the team struggled through two terrible seasons there. In light of that, the NHL chose to move the franchise to Denver instead of setting up a new franchise. The Colorado Rockies played there for eight seasons but only made the playoffs once. The owners had wanted to move to New Jersey as early as 1978 and finally made the move in 1982. It took until their sixth season in New Jersey for the Devils to start making the playoffs. During the 1995 season, their owner threatened to move the franchise to Nashville.

Thanks to the shortened regular season, New Jersey only had 48 games to earn 52 points (22-18-8). That put them just four games over .500 and into fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. However, their defensive style really served them well in the postseason. Goalie Martin Brodeur earned three shutouts in five games against the Boston Bruins. After losing the first game of the next round, they won the next four against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For the Eastern Conference finals, called the Turnpike Series, the Devils faced the Philadelphia Flyers, who had topped them in the Atlantic Division. Unlike the typical pattern, each of the teams won two games on the road and lost two games at home. In Game 5, held in Philadelphia on June 11, Flyers goalie Ron Hextall held off the Devils, facing down 32 shots, until the final minute. Claude Lemieux stole the game at 19:15, giving the Devils a 3-2 lead.

The Devils hosted Game 6 in Brendan Byrne Arena at Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford for a sellout crowd of 19,040. Philadelphia managed the first and final goals of the game, but New Jersey potted double in between. While the Devils took 29 shots on Ron Hextall, they only allowed 16 on Brodeur. Stephane Richer (in his fourth season with the Devils) tied the game at 10:25 of the first period when he scored on a power play. Rookie center Brian Rolston finished the period with a goal at 18:15. Another four-year veteran of the team, Randy McKay, netted the only goal of the second period, which ended up being the game-winner. Finally, at 10:11 of the third period, Claude Lemieux (in his fifth season with the Devils) scored his eleventh goal of the postseason. Lemieux led the team in scoring and would receive the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

In an on-ice ceremony following the game, NHL VP Brian Burke presented the Prince of Wales Trophy to Devils captain Scott Stevens. He too had been playing for the Devils for four seasons. His job in this series was to block the Flyers’ top scorer, Eric Lindros, and he succeeded.

For the first time in their 21 seasons as a franchise, the Devils made it into the Stanley Cup Final. Captain Stevens explained, “There’s no question you learn from the past. I don’t think many people expected us to be here this year.” Lemieux commented, “I think as a team we definitely learned a lot. Last season . . . was a good learning experience and, of course, we came out on the short end of the stick. We had to watch the finals last year. This year, we’re part of it. It’s a great feeling.” As a 12-season veteran, John MacLean enthused, “I’ve always wanted this opportunity – always. Now it’s here, the chance to go for the Stanley Cup.” Their coach, Jacques Lemaire, had won the Cup eight times while playing for Montreal, but this was his first time leading a team there. “I am very proud to see the guys enjoying what they have right now, making the finals,” he said. But like I told them, we just won part of it. The other part is to come.”

The finals went even better than the Devils expected. They swept the favored Detroit Red Wings to take home the Stanley Cup. They went on to make the finals four more times, winning two more championships, in 2000 and 2003.

Additional Sources:

“One Final Step,” Asbury Park Press, 14 June 1995, pp. D1 and D4.
Brian McFarlane, Brian McFarlane’s History of Hockey(Champaign, Ill.: Sports Publishing Inc., c1997), 267-272.
Stephen Laroche, Changing the Game: A History of NHL Expansion(Toronto: ECW Press, 2014), 234-237.
Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League(Lincolnwood, Ill.: Publications International, Ltd., 2006), 564-571.